Brotherhood
by Degan
Summary: Sequel to ‘There but for the Grace’, 12 years later. Darker storyline, Hellsing is no longer a secret organization and a dark plot is in the making as old friends and enemies come to light. R&R.
1. Prophecy and Foreshadowing

A/N: This is serving to be an introduction to the sequel. I have ideas but nothing has formed yet.

Disclaimer: This serves for the whole thing: I don't own anyone in this.

* * *

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_Mine is the shade that's walking behind...  
__Mine are the footsteps you never will find...  
__Try to outrun me, it still is the same...  
__I am the Hunter...  
__You are the Game..._

* * *

A shadow passed across his face as he peered across the way at the building. A heavy rain was falling despite the patchy cloud cover, drenching him and the woman on his right, but they didn't care. Such things didn't bother them, not with what they were.

Undead.

He swept a hank of wet, dripping hair out of his face, the rust colour darkened to a deep copper. His grey-blue eyes blinked once, fixed on what was going on in the room they were observing. Two men were working on technical diagrams for something, and there were various notations on the screens that he recognized.

The blonde woman raised the camera at her side and snapped a few pictures, the gold band on her finger glinting in the light of the moon as it came back out from behind the clouds. Her hair, once short and spiky, was now tied back from her shoulders in a long braid that fell to just below her shoulder blades. She had a large pistol strapped to her thigh, and the flak vest that she wore bore several insignia, one still new: a crown sewn onto the collar of her tunic.

He shifted his weight, feeling the two pistols tucked under his arms rub against his sides. The leather duster he wore was stained from many such jobs as this. He raised the binoculars to his face again in an attempt to read the smaller writing on the projection screen. His fingers tightened around the barrels of the instrument, the fingerless gloves creaking slightly.

"Can you make out anything?" the woman asked.

"No, the damn writing is too small." He lowered the binoculars and hook his hair from his face again, a look of deep thought covering his face.

She tucked the camera away in the small satchel she had behind her. "Well, we've got the primary evidence we were sent to get. It'll be up to Integra to give the Go/No-Go signal."

The man nodded. He looked back at the skylight they had been spying through. Twelve years now, they had been trying to track these people down, and it was still like trying to catch mist in your hands.

"It's like a hydra," he murmured as he fingered the insignia on his collar, the same as hers.

"Come again?"

He looked at her. "I thought I brought you up to speed on mythology, dear child."

"You have. I was asking what you meant."

He gestured back at the building as he scooted back under the small awning they had over their heads. He looked at her red eyes, speckled with bits of blue in them.

"Every time we find and roll up a centre or plant, two more pop up. At this rate, we'll be fighting this fight for all of eternity."

She smirked, the tip of a long tooth appearing in the corner of her mouth. "Not a bad prospect, considering the company."

He reached out and gave her a light shove. The ring on his hand glinted in the moonlight.

"You are too kind, Police Girl. But there are times I wonder if you keep me around because of my amazing wit and superior intellect."

"No, my dear," she said, leaning forward to kiss him.

"It's your guns," she said, as she picked up her pack and began to move towards the interior of the building where the communications gear was set up.

He looked at her as she went.

"Vampire women," he murmured, neither for the first time nor the last.

"What was that, Thanatos?" her voice called.

"Nothing dear," he said, rising to join her.

"Just repeating an old thought."

It was time to leave, and return to England.

* * *

_Yours is the fear that makes my wine...  
__Yours is the kind that we hunt through time...  
__Sharp are our teeth, broad are our wings...  
__You are the Pawns...  
__We are the Kings..._

* * *

He continued to trot across the field, his shaggy fur ruffling in the light breeze that blew across him. He felt the heavy collar about his neck, and he knew that he would cause some raised eyebrows if he was seen, but this form was less likely to draw suspicion since bats were rare in this part of the continent. 

He blinked his eyes, the eight orbs closing in succession. He could still pick up the scent. He was getting close.

He could hear the sounds of the forest ahead, the animals hiding from his approach, his strangeness.

Sometimes they were smarter than humans.

He continued to stalk the elusive scent, following it to a small cabin. He shifted into human form just before entering.

"Target is confirmed. Releasing control art restrictions to level four."

Search and Destroy.

His favourite pastime.

Well, second favourite.

Antagonizing the head of Hellsing would be his favourite.

The fight was short, too short for his tastes, but he had the satisfaction of cutting loose for a change.

He left, walking outside and seeing the heavy fog that had settled over the land. He blended with it, sending his mind out to touch that of his Master.

_Limited power release, completed.

* * *

_

_The Flames of the Inferno shall char...  
__The Gates of Mortality shall bar...  
__Your kind and mine, bound by blood...  
__Should the champion loose...  
__It will flow as a flood...

* * *

_

She swept her long blonde hair out from in front of her face. She had papers strewn across her desk, each of them containing some technical detail about this bit of technology or a report from a field unit or an update on some project.

She sighed. It never ended, especially for the administrator of an organization as large as hers was. She chewed on the tip of a cigar, trying to find her lighter under the ocean of reports on her desk.

She reflected on the events of the last twelve years as she located the tool and applied it to the wrapped leaves. So many changes in her life, in the lives of her closest friends. Victories short lived, friends lost to battle and the claws of age.

She closed her eyes at the last thought. She missed him so dearly. He had been indispensable to the group.

She exhaled a small cloud of smoke. And this blasted infestation was getting worse, if nothing else. Between the general flood of the chipped vampires and the children sired by the earlier generations, secrecy was no longer an option. They had received increased funding due to public demand for safety.

Of course, she kept the secret that she had two of the creatures they were hunting were on the payroll and that she and another of the group weren't fully human either.

What the public didn't need to know wouldn't hurt them.

* * *

_The eye of a Hunter will reveal...  
What is kept behind the seals...  
Betrayal will bear fruit, old seeds sown...  
Will become trees fully grown..._

_

* * *

_

He looked about, getting his bearings. His long black coat fluttered in the wind. He continued on, keeping his head low and his hands in his pockets. His short hair, brown with a shock of white running from over his left eyebrow up and back across his head, rippled in the breeze. He scanned the people walking the streets alongside of him. He pushed his glasses back up his nose, hiding his mismatched blue and brown eyes. He knew that they would draw stares. He couldn't be noticed.

He had so much work to do, things to set up and contracts to pick up, targets to hit. He felt the comfortable wieght of his weapons under his jacket, the battered old Berrettas riding at the small of his back and the grip of a long blade bumped against his tailbone.

He noted the address of the building he was passing. Three blocks to go. He arrived at his destination and entered the restaurant. He made his way back to the door that led to the kitchen and pulled on a pair of black gloves. He reached up and tripped the switch hidden in the trim that ran across the low ceiling. A section of the wall slid aside. He stepped in, his hand whipping out and catching the man that had jumped up to oppose him across the throat. He fell, gagging.

He pulled a pistol out and reached into a pocket, withdrawing a silencer and threading it onto the barrel. He walked up to the door at the end of the corridor and kicked it open, striding in and brining his pistol up and firing six shots in rapid succession. Three men fell to the ground, bleeding from two wounds in the centre of mass. He looked at each of them, confirming that they were all the targets he had been contracted to hit.

He reached down onto the floor, picking up the small case that had fallen to the floor and opened it. The contents were intact. He turned and headed back out, shooting the struggling guard as he passed.

No witnesses.

* * *

_Places will be reversed and roles discarded..._  
_New facts will be brought to be regarded...  
_ _Hunter or Hunted, Who can say...  
_ _Which is which on a given day?_


	2. What Has Happened Since

Twelve years have passed since the return of James Hunter, the attack of Erik Valar, and the serious wounding of Integra Hellsing. 

Many things have changed. Hellsing was no longer a secret organization, instead being a branch of the Royal Armed services, able to call for military backup at any time and supplied with a generous budget.

The FREAK problem continued to grow at an alarming rate, despite the best efforts of Hellsing, Iscariot, the Corporation, and various other international groups.

Seras Victoria has come completely into her powers as a No-Life Queen, being able to summon her demons and her familiar, a great tiger the size of a Shetland. She and James Hunter had grown closer and closer, exchanging what passed as marriage vows for a pair of immortal people. They were both promoted to the rank of Major so as to hold the sway needed for the times they liaised with the British Army or MI-5.

Integra had gained mastery over the powers that her altered state had granted her, understanding her most loyal servant on a deeper level now. She and Alucard also had grown closer through the years, though neither would change their routines. He still did his best to pester her and she still ignored it resolutely, though she had started to return the favour. In similar fashion to Hunter, the Dhampir that had helped her control her talents, she would take on the guises of Mina Harker or Lucy Westenra, much to the No-Life King's frustration at times.

Walter C. Ddollneazz passed away in his sleep at the tender age of 87. He was interred in the graveyard set aside for Hellsing members, mourned by all those that knew him.

Enrico Maxwell was attacked in his private office by a chipped vampire, causing him to instigate reforms to the security of Section XIII headquarters. Paladin Alexander Anderson took on the duty of heading the security detail until a replacement was found. He continued to pull field duty as well as watching over the children at the orphanage. Heinkel Wolfe and Yumiko Takagi continued their miniature Crusade against the enemies of the Church, with Yumiko gaining slight control over Yumie as time went on.

Rumours of an assassin hitting members of various crime syndicates began to circulate through the underworld. Rumours of the rebuilding of _Das Millennium _under the command of Rip Van Winkle. Rumours of Millennion consolidating its power in Japan, the new head – Bloody Harry – being very interested in the FREAK phenomena.

The STN-J welcomed Amon and Robin back into their ranks, as well the young daughter of the pair.

The sun rose and set four thousand, three hundred eighty times.

A new day is dawning.


	3. Standard Operating Procedure

A/N: Ok, now the story starts.

* * *

The lieutenant looked at the blanket shrouded bodies. There were twelve of them, easily, all soaked in blood. The smell of death rose to him, making him gag. The sergeant came over and handed him a small bag containing a silver cross, covered in blood. 

"That was found in one of the victims' hands." He nodded his head back to the scene of mayhem. "It obviously didn't do any good."

The lieutenant shook his head, wishing for once that he wasn't the on call for the evening. That made him the OIC, officer in charge. He wished for a desk job.

The sergeant motioned for him to follow. They went over to one of the bodies and the lower ranking man pulled back the blanket covering the still form. He pointed to a set of wounds in the neck.

"You know what this means, of course," he said.

Sighing, the lieutenant nodded. "You've made the call already, I assume?"

"There should be someone arriving soon. There was a report of a similar incident across town as well."

Another sigh.

The sound of an engine came to his ears, and he turned. A figure on a motorcycle came up, the compact vehicle weaving easily through the parked cars. Perched on top of the Japanese made bike was a man with long rust coloured hair with a weather-stained leather duster draped over his broad shoulders. A pair of tinted sunglasses sat on his nose, the grey colour of the lenses barely letting his eyes show. He climbed off the bike and strode up to the blue barricades. He pulled out an ID and flashed it at the pale-skinned rookie standing there. As he passed the line, he asked in a strong voice that held a cockney accent.

"Where's the OIC?"

The lieutenant stepped forward, holding out his hand. "That would be me. Richard Bremen."

The man looked over the shoulder of the officer, ignoring the extended hand. "How many?"

"Twelve that we've found. We haven't gone too much farther into the club yet; it's a mess in there." The lieutenant shook his head. "I haven't seen much of this sort of thing, this carnage."

The grim faced man looked at him, the Major's insignia on his collar flashing. "Get used to it, you'll be seeing it a lot more before it ends."

The cop groaned.

"We've found a survivor," a voice called.

The lieutenant, sergeant, and the officer from Hellsing walked to where a man was laying on a gurney, sweating heavily. He had blood on him as had every other body, but his neck was unblemished. "Get him out of here and to a hospital, now," ordered the Lieutenant.

The man from Hellsing stopped the progress of the gurney. He looked at the form of the man, then pulled out a large pistol and levelled it at the chest of the man, pulling the trigger. The sound of the gun was loud, even suppressed as it was with the blowback minimizers on the end of the barrel. The medics gasped and the sergeant had his pistol trained on the man immediately; the Glock 9 pistol looking tiny compared to the modified Desert Eagle.

"What do you think you're doing?" Bremen asked.

The man showed no sign of lowering his weapon as he reached out and pushed the sleeve of the now dead body up, revealing a wound on the inside of the arm. "My job," he said crossly. "How long has it been since the first man arrived on scene?"

"Twenty minutes, maybe thirty."

An exasperated sigh escaped the man as he moved to the bodies laid out on the ground. "You remembered to call us in, at least." He raised his pistol to fire again when the lieutenant reached him and pushed the arm down.

"How dare you desecrate these bodies? Won't you at least let the families claim them?"

The man looked at Bremen with cold grey-blue eyes. "Haven't you had the lecture? Don't you know anything about what you've seen here?"

That threw the man for a moment. "No, I just know that its Standard Operating Procedure to call in the Hellsing organization should we come across bodies with severe neck wounds and blood loss."

The inhuman eyes turned away, looking back at the bodies. "_There_ is _why_ we're called in," he said simply, pointing behind the cop.

The lieutenant looked, and paled. The bodies were sitting up, horrible moans coming from their lips. As the blankets fell from their faces, he saw the horrible farces of human visages they had become. He shrank back in fear.

The roar of the pistol came nine times, each time dropping nine forms which crumbled to dust. He released the spent magazine and slammed a fresh one in, dropping the last three bodies. He then turned to leave, pistol sliding into his jacket again.

"What is the meaning of this?" the officer cried, wanting an explanation at least.

The cold glare caught him again. "My job," he said again, as though to a child. "Has anyone here taken the lecture?" he asked, not really expecting an answer. A single medic raised his hand.

"What is the primary area of the Hellsing Organization's expertise?" he asked the slight man.

"Dealing with NHB incursions and incidents."

"And what is an NHB?"

"A Non-Human Being," gulped the medic.

"Including such things as..."

"Vampires and ghouls," the man finished.

He turned back to the OIC. "And in that end, our orders are simple. Search and Destroy." He started to move away again.

"Then why shoot the bodies?" the confused man asked.

The man turned and looked at him with a tired look. "Search _and _Destroy," he said. "Which part of that are you having trouble with? Those people, once drained, would have risen as either vampires or ghouls, as you saw. There is no way to reverse the effects. All that is left is a quick death." A chirruping ring split the air, and the man pulled a cell phone from his pocket, flipping it open and saying a single word into it.

"Thanatos," he said, listening after he identified himself. After a moment he closed his eyes. "Acknowledged, en route."

He looked at the police officer as he climbed back onto his bike. "You come across any more bodies, you shoot them in the heart or the head," he said, throwing a small box to the man. He opened it and saw that it held bullets with shining silver tips.

"It's Standard Operating Procedure," he said sardonically as he cranked the bike to life and sped off.

* * *

Seras Victoria ducked as the shadowy tendril passed over her head. She reared back, sending one of her own demons in to attack the grinning creature. The feline shape pounced on it as though her opponent was no more than a mouse. She felt his attacks slacken as fear overrode his concentration. His demons disappeared and he began to try and claw his way out from under the phantom foot of the beast. She bid the animal to swipe a foot through his leg, the scream of pain resounding in the air. 

She recalled the shadows, striding up in her normal guise again. Her blonde hair waved and curled with a life of its own as she kept her power completely free. Her body was still shrouded in shadows, the pupils in her red eyes slit vertically like the tiger that served as her familiar. She smiled a sweet smile, one distorted because of the fangs and the general aura she had.

"Had enough?" she asked.

He twisted around, a pistol appearing in his hand. He fired six times.

She stood there as the bullets ripped into her flesh, tiny flashes of pain registering, but she just regenerated her body, the wounds healing over as she called on the shadows that surrounded her, the tiger's head emerging from her shoulder again, the multiple eyes gleaming as it's slavering mouth gaped open, gathering up the fallen FREAK and carried it off, dashing it against the wall before devouring it.

"I'll take that as a yes," she said as she released her powers, her hair settling down her back again. She turned to the soldiers behind her. Half of them were Hellsing regulars, used to seeing that sort of display. The others were British Army, transferred to her command to serve as backup since they were being completely spread across the country at this point in time. They had faces of sheer fear, disgust, and other emotions. She betrayed none of the disgust she felt at seeing those looks. She'd been getting them for five years now, ever since the outbreak had become so bad that they'd ceased to act in secret, pulling in Army or Marine soldiers to increase the numbers in a field unit without draining the reserves of the organization.

For the first time, Seras wished for the times when she was just a fledgling, when they went out only occasionally instead of all night almost every night. She hardly had time to take a personal day and relax, spend it with her husband or her friends; the fellow ranking members of Hellsing that had survived the Tower of London affair, the attacks in Brazil, and the slow march of time. Those that weren't Hellsing veterans were members of the Wild Geese that had stayed on to honour their fallen leader, Pip Bernadette, who had kept them on hand even after they had finished the tasks appointed to them.

One of the old Geese and newly minted Commander stepped forward. "All signs of NHB activity is cleared for the area, Major."

She nodded. "Thank you, Commander. How are your men?"

His face turned pensive. "Two down, three injured. Nothing serious and I've already taken care of the routine."

She shut her eyes. For all the time she'd been in the thick of it, she still felt pangs of regret and sadness for each body she had to desecrate just to ensure that it wouldn't come back as a ghoul.

Just as she'd had to do thirteen years ago to Pip.

"And the help?" she asked, referring to the soldiers that had joined them on this mission.

"Three and two," he said, referring to the dead and wounded. "And they weren't happy when Mitchell plugged one to keep him down."

She sighed with annoyance. Despite the fact that their mission was known and the mission edict had been drilled into each of the transfers when they had suited up, it seemed as though none of them attended the lecture that was held by MI-5 when people rose to a certain rank within the infrastructure of England.

Integra had been trying to get the Round Table Conference to lower the security clearance so that even the Non-Com officers would know of it, not just Captains and those with Level Three security clearance. Seras just shook her head.

"Let them file a complaint with the JIC, Eugene. Are we ready for withdrawal?"

"Another five minutes to dispose of the remains properly."

She nodded, and sent her thoughts out to James, feeling similar annoyance in his sense. Apparently he had run into another similar reaction. He was more jaded than she, used to the reactions, but he still felt annoyance that people refused to believe that to keep from the bodies rising you had to shoot them.

She wondered at the ease she could communicate with him now. As they had grown closer, a bond had formed between their minds, linking them at levels beyond normal telepathy. There were times that they had gotten so close that the lines blurred between the two of them, and they were almost one person, sharing each thought and sensation.

She grinned at the memories. It had been rather enjoyable during those times.

_I thought we had a talk about touching my mind and then drifting off into dreamland, Police Girl, _came his voice, a touch of sarcasm and taunting floating in the words.

_Sorry, just having some pleasant memories and wondering if we might relive them later tonight._

_My, but you are up front, _he said, chuckling. _How'd the disposal go?_

_About as you'd expect. The children aren't happy._

His exasperation grew. _Neither were the civvies. You'd think when someone from a big government organization showed up they would take his word for something._

She smiled, knowing he would pick up the sensation. _Blame the King and the Prime Minister for not letting the word out sooner. Hurry home, and be careful._

A sensation like a gentle kiss flowed through the link, and she let him go on whatever little errand he had left. She turned to Eugene and gave him a raised eyebrow.

"We're ready when you are, Vicky."

She snorted as he used the old teasing nickname that Pip had given her. The man facing her was as close as Pip could claim to a brother and he had taken on a similar role with Seras. "Keep an eye on the kids, little bro," she said, tossing him a wink. "I'm going to head out a little early."

Commander Eugene Buckingham smiled as he picked up on what she meant. "Sure thing, Major."

She smiled and then burst into a cloud of bats that swarmed around the area for a few minutes before heading for the manor. She had the thrill of seeing the British Militia men duck and shrink away with fear. She chuckled with laughter, the sound coming out as squeaks from hundreds of tiny throats.

_Show off, _came the quick taunt.

_You're just jealous, _she thought back at her husband before focusing on the flight.

_Maybe, _he thought. _But then, becoming a swarm of blonde bats never has really appealed to me._

She sent him a glower through the bond. She hadn't shown a single blonde hair after the first time she transformed.

_Troublemaker, _she thought. _You'll pay for that one._

_You'll have to catch me first._

She smiled inwardly.

That was usually the fun part.

* * *

Integra Wingates Hellsing stood in the field, gazing about, her senses alert. She gripped an old Walther PPK in her hand, the hammer cocked back. 

A rustle came from her left, and she spun, the pistol already aimed at the spot as a ghoul leapt out. The bullet fired from her pistol turned it to dust and ash almost as soon as she had spotted it. She smiled the same slight smile she had the first night Alucard had come and visited her in her cell, crushing the wine glass in his hand and offering her his blood again.

"Very good, Master," came the voice, purring in its softness. "You are getting faster every day."

She turned, seeing the red coat of her most trusted servant, closest friend in the organization, and frequent love interest blowing in the wind. "I haven't gotten any faster in six years, you con artist," she said, raising an eyebrow.

"True, but I had to think of something besides hello." His trademark smirk spread across his face. "Are you ready for tonight's training session?"

She grinned. Maybe it was the change in her nature, but she enjoyed the violence that came with the hunt, and the challenges that the training put her through.

It consisted mostly of her trying to shoot him and him trying to catch her off guard and wrap her up in his arms, ending the chase. It caused her to use her new senses and abilities in real situations instead of in meditation as Hunter had done until he handed her over to the Nosferatu for advanced training.

"Think you can catch me?" she asked in the voice of Mina Harker, melding with the shadows, her laugh echoing in the meadow.

Alucard shook his head.

"Must you insist on using that voice?" he asked mournfully before giving chase. 

_Damn that Dhampir, _he thought.

* * *

He stood on a rooftop, a battered rifle in his hands. It was old, weathered, and for the most part untraceable, serial numbers filed off, the rifling grooves inside the barrel bored out. A higher power charge had been used in the bullets to compensate for the loss, and he had spent many hours with it to become familiar with its peculiar aiming technique. 

He stared across the way, the scope set for night shooting. He saw the figure of his target wander across the window, and he held his fire. He wanted a straight chest shot, letting the bullet enter and exit before the target knew what happened. The second shot would kill him.

Then he would have no problem searching the office for the contents he was looking for.

And the new quest would begin, one that he would succeed in.

As he always did.

Fifteen minutes later, he was heading down the fire escape of the other building, a data formatted CD in his hand.

One piece left to acquire.

* * *


	4. Thorn

A/N: Ok, I was listening to some German Metal and these songs spawned the theme for the storyline along with some other things. It's going to be a lot darker since I plan on pushing everyone to the limits of their humanity and integrate some surprising elements. Plus, I thought that the new ending theme kind of fits with a whole vampire theme, especially Seras' POV

* * *

_A black swan is born in that night  
__The misty pond crowned a new king  
__Got a new king_

_So what can we do with our lives when it all begins?  
__It's hard and it's cruel  
__Will Grace die in pain?  
__Will Light ever rise again?_

_Oh I'm trapped in darkness  
__Still I reach out for the stars  
__I'm moving in silence  
__I'll leave it all far behind_

_Oh at dawn I'll face the edge of thorns  
__Oh at dawn I'll pray at the edge of thorns  
__Oh at dawn I'll face the edge of thorns_

* * *

Hunter threw the Yamaha bike into a hard turn, throwing up a dust-wall behind him as he slewed the rear tire around without letting up on the throttle. He followed the red taillights a few meters ahead of him across the dusty field. He had been ordered to check out a small warehouse that had been discovered in the centre of an increased FREAK concentration. He had no sooner slipped through the outer fence and started to stalk up to the building when various large trucks burst out from the north side, gunning away from him at a ninety degree angle. He apparated back to his bike and kicked it into gear, following them. He had a few thermite charges in his pockets, but he couldn't just destroy the trucks. He had to capture at least one of them alive so they could discover the source of all these chip designs. 

He sighed. The last remnants of the Millennium group had been defeated or driven into hiding years ago. He laughed inwardly as he thought about the werewolf Schrödinger trying to lead the group as it was. The lad would barely be twenty-five now. No threat there.

And then the repository that had been his father's base in the Atlantic, hundreds of chips and the labs that had created them, all destroyed twelve years ago.

And still they were hunting down the designers and the primary replication plant.

Sixteen years Hellsing had been at this, and sixteen years they had been coming up empty handed.

He slammed the bike into its highest gear, hauling Abel out from beneath his coat with his left hand, his right keeping the throttle wide open. He aimed and fired two rounds at the rearmost tires of the closets truck to him, seeing the rubber treads fly off and the rim shatter, the truck listing to the side horribly before throwing up clouds of dirt and tipping over as the unbalanced bed finally twisted around.

He looked at it as he flew by. He hoped they weren't dead.

Dead bodies would just be statistics. He needed witnesses.

He altered his course, coming about so he was alongside the second truck in the line. He saw two men inside, and then saw one throw the door open, a Steyr TMP 9mm SMG in his hands.

_Shit, I just got the bike fixed from the last time, _thought Hunter.

He ducked down on the far side of the bike as best he could, Abel firing at the truck. He heard the multiple pinging of bullets striking the chassis of the bike, and the engine began to sputter as the throttle line was severed by a shot. He threw himself up into the air as high as he could, turning in a flip, firing wildly as Cain cleared his jacket as well. The gunner fell out of the truck and Hunter landed on the top of the cab, swinging down and into the driver's window, knocking the man out and killing the truck. He then looked out the front windscreen and saw that the third truck was already pulling far ahead of him. He phased into the shadows of the truck cab and wound up in front of the remaining truck. He tried to grab the tailgate as it passed, but missed. As he made to catch the vehicle, he saw a glint as something was thrown out at him, and he swung his pistol up to shoot the grenade out of the air.

He saw the grenade shatter instead of altering course, glittering shards of glass expanding with the gauzy shine of another material, and he realized at that moment his mistake.

The Holy Water cascaded onto him and agony shot through his body. He fell to his hands and knees, blue flames flickering about his body. He felt his muscles start convulsing as the flames ate into his flesh. He fell onto his side, hands flailing in spasms. His vision went black as his eyes were consumed by the flames and liquid. He tried to shut the pain out and concentrate, trying to get his mind to a point where all there was was his willpower and his conviction.

He transformed into a mist, the Holy Water trickling to the ground. He drifted for a moment, then collapsed back into corporeal form and just laid there, skin blackened and hair shrivelled. His body still shook in uncontrollable fits, pain still rolling through his limbs. He could smell his burnt hair, flesh. The smell was unbearable. Just as he passed out, he felt the pain start to fade somewhat as his body started to regenerate.

Across the Island, Seras jerked as his pain flowed down the bond they shared, and headed out for his location. When she saw him, she gathered him up in her arms and took him back to the Manor.

And as she saw the wounds, she couldn't help but think a wry thought.

_Every time you go off without me you get in trouble. I'm going to put you on a leash next time._

She snorted. That'd go over well with him, she was sure.

* * *

_Let us march on  
__To the fields of sacrifice, wondering why  
__I'll carry on  
__Will I betray myself to rise?_

_In the silence  
__It's time to explain  
__Search for truth in lies  
__Useful lies  
__Needless love's damned_

_What can we do with our lives when it all begins?  
__Come follow me and you will see how it will be  
__When all the pain is gone away_

_Oh at dawn I'll pray at the edge of thorns  
__Oh at dawn I'll face the edge of thorns  
__Oh at dawn I'll pray at the edge of thorns  
__Oh at dawn I'll face the edge of thorns

* * *

_

Integra flipped through the shadows, leading Alucard on a merry chase when her senses flared up with awareness. One thing she had noticed about her new abilities was the ability to notice when Vampires were nearby. And there was a strong presence, one familiar in some way, but not as strong as Alucard, or Seras. It was flickering, as if not fully formed. She stood still, trying to get a better sense of the creature.

Arms wrapped around her from behind, and she looked up to see Alucard's pale face smiling down at her.

"Too easy," he said.

She pushed him away slightly. She cast out with her senses, and pinpointed the location. She turned to her servant, the words forming in her mind but he cut her off.

"Search and Destroy, in Southampton, am I correct, my Master?"

She smirked. "Yes, and do hurry back. You won, if by a circumstance of luck, but I will give you the forfeit agreed upon." She grabbed his cravat and pulled him into a kiss. "But don't make me wait too long," she said, phasing into the shadows.

Alucard smiled, and phased out to Southampton and followed the sense to the source, and stood there in surprise.

"You, but how? I thought I had destroyed you."

She smiled at him, the same fanged grin he wore.

"Hello, Samiel. It's been a long time." She cackled, and began to speak in a sing-song tone, almost like telling a fortune:

_It cannot be seen but there's blood on the green  
Only God knows I'm innocent  
Take me, take me home  
A dark seed reigns in me like the Storm rules over the sea  
I challenge thee, do not cross this bridge alone  
  
Don't dare me now  
The threatening shadows will pass by  
  
They're getting closer now  
Open your eyes  
Wake up my dear young friend  
And hate shall fade away  
  
I will not move, yet  
I'll stand still instead  
  
There on the battlefield he stands  
Down on the battlefield he's lost  
And on the battlefield it ends_

_War and anger shall reign  
The clash of iron can be heard  
By blindness you're driven insane  
I'm lost in anguish and grief  
Sorrow won't wane 'til you die  
A shattered body deeply hurt  
And darkness will cover the light  
It's gone forevermore_

Alucard just stared at her, for the first time in a long time surprised beyond words.

"I do wish you would just speak your mind instead of coming up with silly songs," he said to fill the silence.

Rip Van Winkle smiled again.

* * *

_Let us march on, though there's no hope at our side  
__Let us be brave, though by glory we are denied.  
__But don't you think it's time for us to bring it to an end?  
__Come play the song of death  
__The wisdom in us both will make it special guaranteed  
__Come play the song of death_

_I'm lost in the depth of his eyes I can't flee  
__Inner pain caused insanity its deep within  
__The fear and the hunger  
__Enslaved and denied by my love and my enemies  
__I'm the ill-gotten Son_

_Oh at dawn I'll face the edge of thorns  
__Oh at dawn I'll pray at the edge of thorns  
__Oh at dawn I'll face the edge of thorns

* * *

_

He walked into the building, his faked ID badge sitting on his jacket. If anyone tried to actually scan it to verify his identity, they would die before they felt the bullet. He walked for most of the way without confrontation, and then entered the large soundproof room and unshipped the small pistol from his back, firing five times.

Four doctors fell dead, and one fell with a wound through his left thigh. The assassin walked up and squatted down by the writhing man.

"Dr. Thompson, you have three choices. Die slowly from the wound in your leg, die now, or help me in a small project." He placed the pistol directly on the man's forehead.

The doctor paled, the pain in his eyes not quite subsiding. He nodded his head, stuttering out words of compliance.

The man smiled, his mismatched eyes gleaming, one cold and icy, the other blazing with an internal fire.

Now it begins.

* * *

_Piano intro_

Cut off the light, take a look  
There's nothing beyond but pain  
Suffer in the deepest void  
The flame of hope is gone  
What have I done?  
Denied the Father and the Son  
For a moment it seemed  
There's space beyond the spheres  
  
Aflame the night  
So clear and bright  
Unstable light  
You've been sacrificed in fear  
Now there's one thing for sure  
I'm not afraid anymore!  
  
Day after day we've been fixed in this bowl for so long  
For ages we're captured in shells and crystallized walls  
  
Predestined or punished by Man or God?  
  
I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
Take it away from me  
  
And for a while astronomy's moved the Earth  
And we've turned around the Sun  
_Sanctum Officium_  
Has made me believe  
Has made me believe  
Has made me believe  
  
"We know for sure you're lying  
Would you like to mess with Holy Scion?  
You know the fear of dying  
Would it be worth it to hear you crying"  
I've slaughtered truth and I've shattered my heart  
  
Far too long I have played with hellfire  
And science has turned into madness  
But I should have taken it higher  
So I feel, so I feel  
Like Judas must have felt before  
That Wednesday night near by the tree  
  
I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
Take it away from me  
  
Day after day we will gratefully suffer for more  
Predestined's our part so we bleed in the name of God  
  
Don't believe in their eternity  
We're still held in blindness  
And I've been turned into a liar  
If there is no Heaven there won't be release  
  
I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
Take it away from me

* * *

  
**Preview**

_Seras: _My, that was some dark music...

_Author: _Thank you, I had to dig through quite a few CD's to find something dark enough.

_Seras: _What were they?

_Author: _Blind Guardian, _Thorn, Battlefield, _and _Age of False Innocence, _which will be the ending theme for this story, alternating with the opening theme of _And Then There was Silence_

_Integra: _I believe the Major has a preview to do, sir.

_Author: _Ah, I do apologize.

_Seras: _Um, in the next chapter of Brotherhood, um, well...

**Chapter 5: So Far Away**


	5. So Far Away

A/N: Ok, this one is mostly filler, but I thought that the slow introduction of one of the main plot lines would be better.

* * *

The dawn was hours away, and Alucard stood on the pier in Southampton, shocked as he hadn't been in the better part of a century. 

Rip Van Winkle stood across from him, dressed in the same suit and necklace she had worn when he had faced her on the _HMS Eagle _fifteen years previous. Across her shoulder was the musket he had impaled her with before devouring her essance.

"How are you still alive, libeling?" he asked her, his voice dropping into icy tones.

She cackled, face shadowing over. "Oh, a bit of luck here and there, and a little werewolf," she said, fanged grin shining out from the shadows along with her eyes. "It hurt for the longest time, but you most of all should know that we cannot be slain so easily, Samiel." She spread her hands, the clock dangling from her limp left hand fingers. "But we'll have to finish our business at another time, dear father."

He bristled. How dare she call him that, after the mockery she had made of their line?

She saw his reaction and laughed again. "What is the matter, father? Does admitting the truth hurt you so badly?"

"Having one such as you share my blood does, Rip Van Winkle. Killing for pleasure, helping with the creation of these imitations, none of these actions are befitting of the family of which you belong!"

She cocked an eyebrow at him. "This coming from the great Vlad Tepes Dracul! How I laugh at your sanctimonious outrage!"

She stepped forward. "I had no choice in the FREAK technology, if you would bother to remember that I was experimented on just as you were by Van Helsing. But as for the killing for pleasure, do you not remember the people of Walachia, the Turks that opposed you?"

She cackled. "Oh, how the rivers of Transylvania ran red and the mountains of Carpathia echoed with the howls of your wolves. You were no different than me, O No-Life King! No different!"

He pulled the Jackal from his coat, the barrel sliding into her mouth as she carried on. She froze, the cold metal coming nowhere near as cold as the vampire's eyes.

"I will give you one chance, Jester, to tell me why you are here. After that, I will send you to the depths of Hell to please the Devil's court and be reunited with your master."

She stepped back, taking her mouth from the weapon. She looked at him. "I see you have lost what humour you had, Vlad." She smoothed her suit, making sure that the swastika pendant she wore hung on the outside of her jacket.

"There is a great threat growing for our kind, and it is for that reason alone that I warn you," she eyed him with the insanity that she had been known for. "Several of our kindred have gone missing, shortly after suffering from some sort of sickness. Recently one of my fledglings fell under the pull of this disease, and he was consumed from within by the fever."

Alucard snorted. "How kind of you to inform us of this threat. Why should I believe you?"

She smiled and pulled a small vial from her jacket. It contained a red-black fluid, the blood of a vampire.

"Run tests on this if you wish," she said, tossing it to him. She began to fade into the shadows, one of the few powers left to her.

"Meanwhile, Samiel, I would look to the West and hope the Sun rises with favourable light."

Even after her form was gone, her voice drifted across the water, laughing with insanity.

He gazed at the spot where she had stood, then at the vial he held gently.

_I should have made sure she was dead, _he thought before merging with the shadows.

It was time to inform Integra of this new development.

* * *

Seras ran her fingertips over the faint scars on his chest as they lay together. He was healing quickly. 

"How is it you get so beat up every time you go out somewhere?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Part of my charming personality, I suppose. This time it was my fault, however." He shifted in the bed. "I should have known that they'd be prepared for vampiric or otherwise supernatural attacks. It stung like Hell until I passed out."

She kissed the side of his jaw. "I should put you on a leash, that way you don't get into nearly as much trouble."

He eyed her with surprise. "And you haven't gotten into as much trouble? Need I remind you of your first meeting with Anderson? Or the reason why you don't carry around those two Vladimir Halconnens anymore?"

She reddened as she hadn't in years. "I'll thank you not to remind me of that night," she said, mock scowling. She shifted so she was leaning against his chest, looking down at him. He looked up at the nearly non-existent scar on her neck, left by a blessed blade nearly two decades ago. He ran his finger along its faint white mark.

"It's almost gone," he said quietly, trailing his fingers down her bare flesh.

She smiled. "So are yours," she said, a sly look crossing her face. "You feel up to some strenuous activity now?"

"Depends on what you mean by strenuous," he said, an eyebrow arching over a grey-blue eye.

"Well, it would involve you and me," she said, leaning forward, her breath caressing his chin. "And a bit of heat."

"I'm not trying to teach you to cook again," he said flatly.

She slapped his shoulder, causing him to wince slightly. "That isn't what I meant and you know it!"

"Yeah, but you have to admit that you are rather horrible when it comes to anything dealing with the kitchen."

"AM NOT!"

"Seras, you burnt water!" he said, a chuckle not quite being suppressed. "I still can't figure out how you did it, either!"

She frowned at him, the tips of her fangs showing as her lips curled up. "You are pushing it, mister," she growled warningly.

"Like you could do more damage than a Holy Water grenade," he said, tilting his head back as best he could while lying on a bed.

"Well, I was going to be gentle, considering you were wounded," she said, sliding on top of him.

He cocked an eyebrow again. "Like you are gentle to begin with," he said.

As she settled herself onto him, she smiled. "I promise I won't bite this time," she said. He snorted.

"Hard," she amended, just before kissing him.

* * *

Integra sat, listening to Alucard's report. She was intrigued. 

"So, Rip is still around. Is there any credence to this story of hers?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I sensed no deceit about her, but at the same time, our kind is difficult to kill. Our cells are constantly regenerating, nullifying the aging process and most diseases."

He crossed the room, dropping into the leather chair before her desk and draping his legs across the arm. "Personally, I don't believe her a bit. But it would be prudent to test that vial to see if it is true."

She nodded. She had been thinking along the same lines. "I'll set R&D on it first thing in the morning," she said, placing the vial on her desk. She glanced over at the vampire as another thought struck her. "So when were you going to inform us that you were related?" she asked.

A smirk and a grin. "Integra, I have been alive for well over a millennium. I have known you for barely thirty years, and only been on a friendly basis for around sixteen of those thirty. It's going to take time to fill in all the gaps in your knowledge."

She spitted him with a glare. "Something like that usually comes up when the subject shoots down two SAS helicopters," she said icily.

"True. Part of it is I considered her an embarrassment, to be used as such by the Germans, to have lost the use of her powers as she had. She wasn't worthy of being turned in retrospect." His face turned introspective. "Still, you might have had suspicions, seeing as how she bears a striking resemblance to me."

Integra smirked. "I do believe I was busy with other things at the time then noting how much a vampire resembled my servant, Alucard." She stood and crossed the room to stand before the portrait of her father.

The thought crossed her mind again. _What would he think of me, what I've become?_

_Would he have rather you died, leaving the house that he and you have served with no heir, no leader? To have the institution that he helped build with his blood crumble when England needed it most? _Alucard asked.

She looked at him. "You're just saying that because of what we've become," she accused with a slight smirk.

He raised an eyebrow, the only part of his face visible behind the glasses. "Oh?" he said. "And just what might that be?" he asked as he rose and crossed the room to her.

She tossed her hair behind her shoulders. "If you have to ask, then I can always relearn how to sleep alone."

"You don't sleep all that much anymore, Integra."

She slugged his shoulder. "You know what I mean."

He smiled. "Yes, I do."

He looked out the window. "Still though, something about what she said bothered me,"

Bothered Alucard? "Like what?"

"She said to look to the West and hope the Sun rises with a favourable light. There were hints there. West and the Sun, but I don't know how they fit together yet."

She took his arm in hers and gave a light tug. "Go and sleep on it. I've got work to do." She began to usher him towards the door.

He looked at her with a grin. "What about my forfeit?" he asked.

She gave him another push. "Later."

* * *

_The ship rocked under his feet, causing him to grip the guide lines to keep from being tossed overboard. He saw the ship several cables to the fore of his ship. He turned his head and shouted to the helmsman._

_"Take her hard to port and unfurl the sail fully! She bears at Three hundred thirty degrees!"_

_The helmsman nodded, complying with his orders. The schooner leapt forward as the wind caught the cloth._

_He looked forward, squinting against the salt spray as it leapt into his eyes. There were seven men by the fo'c'stle ready to board the other ship as soon as they were within a cable's length._

_He sighed. How long had it been since they had been in port? That night with the other members of his group, the Maáquë Brotherhood? It seemed so long ago, so far away, like his past actions. He strode forward, joining the other at the foredeck._

_A man with brown hair shot through with a streak of white smiled. "Nice of you to join us, Bane," he said._

_The man smiled, revealing a pointed grin. "You know me and water, Phoenix. I have trouble getting my sea legs, unlike you."_

_The other man snorted. "I believe that about as much as I believe I'm human." He looked at the ship they were trailing. "You think this one contains the Queen?"_

_Bane shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine," he said. He looked at the other men on the ship. "About these people we picked up in Siam," he began quietly. "They are capable sailors, to be sure, but they are little better than pirates."_

_Phoenix looked at him. "Getting qualms, philosopher? Certainly not after all we've done and accomplished."_

_Bane shook his head. "No, but these people barely conform to the tenants that we have for a decade now. 'Never involve the innocent, never kill needlessly, never include the family.' These are the rules we have lived by for ten years, Phoenix."_

_Phoenix waved his hand as though dismissing his friend. "Such platitudes must change with time, Bane. Times change, as they will. People change," he said, looking at the ship they were pursuing._

_Bane sighed. He had feared as much. "Then this is to be my last voyage with you, old friend," he said, voicing the choice he knew he would have had to make in the end._

_Phoenix looked at him with true sadness in his eyes. "If that is your choice, then I shall not hinder you when we return to port. But perhaps Dame Fate shall grace us and provide us with the target we seek on this ship."_

_Bane smiled sadly. "I doubt we'll find the Queen aboard that ship, old friend. At this range, I should be able to sense her, and I do not."_

_The man turned his blue and brown eyes on the mournful man. "I do not doubt your senses," he said._

_"Shall I call us off the approach then?"_

_Phoenix shook his head. "No," he said. "We need supplies badly, and these men surely can do without a barrel or two of apples."_

_Bane arched his eyebrow, his grey-blue eyes glittering in the low light of the setting sun. "You surely don't mean to pirate food from them, when we are but a day or so from port?"_

_Another negligent hand wave. "They are bound for the same port as we are. So we will be setting course for Taipei, and we'll need the food."_

_Bane set his face in hard lines. "I beg you to rethink this, Ezekiel."_

_Ezekiel Kane looked at his friend. _

_"It isn't like you to beg, James."

* * *

_

Ezekiel Kane sat up, blinking his eyes to clear the sleep from them. Why would he think of James Hunter now, after nearly a century and a half?

He stretched out to his full length, his tail uncoiling and let out a small puff of mist as he rose from the pool he lay in. It felt so good to relax in his true form, as he had little time to do these days. He raised his head, feeling the tendons in his neck hum with the sheer power unrivaled by anything that still walked the Earth.

He shifted into his human guise, planning to go and speak with the scientist he had invited to his house several days ago.

He had to perfect the serum soon. It was proving to be useless against the more powerful members of the race. He smiled his cruel smile.

It would only be a matter of time.

He could wait. Patience was a virtue, after all.

And those of his race had patience to spare. He flexed his hands, letting his claws slide into being from the fingertip sheaths, one of the few outward signs of his true nature.

He chuckled.

After all, his kind had been around long before the vampires had ever existed. Why should they be the so called 'Rulers of the Night'?

* * *

The Right Head Cerberus fired, and the last of the Orgmen shattered into glinting particles. Beyond the Grave looked around with his one good eye and saw no more targets. He turned to the small woman that stood behind him and tossed his head in an invitation to follow him. 

Mika crawled out from the cover he provided and picked up the small pistol she had dropped. She looked ashamed. "I'm useless; I don't know why you keep protecting me."

Grave looked at her, having a mental juxtaposition of her image over that of another woman he had known.

Maria, the girl's mother.

He smiled softly, and in a voice that seemed out of place on the huge frame, befitting more the lanky youth he had been once, a lifetime ago, spoke a simple sentence.

"Because I promised someone that I would."

Mika looked at him, and a faint smile blossomed on her face. "You use more bullets than you do words, Grave. Would it kill you to speak more?"

Grave smiled another soft smile, one that seemed just as out of place as his voice.

"You never know," he said, picking up his hat and placing it back on his head.

"It did once."

* * *

_Piano intro_

Cut off the light, take a look  
There's nothing beyond but pain  
Suffer in the deepest void  
The flame of hope is gone  
What have I done?  
Denied the Father and the Son  
For a moment it seemed  
There's space beyond the spheres

Aflame the night  
So clear and bright  
Unstable light  
You've been sacrificed in fear  
Now there's one thing for sure  
I'm not afraid anymore!

Day after day we've been fixed in this bowl for so long  
For ages we're captured in shells and crystallized walls

Predestined or punished by Man or God?

I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
Take it away from me

And for a while astronomy's moved the Earth  
And we've turned around the Sun  
_Sanctum Officium_  
Has made me believe  
Has made me believe  
Has made me believe

"We know for sure you're lying  
Would you like to mess with Holy Scion?  
You know the fear of dying  
Would it be worth it to hear you crying"  
I've slaughtered truth and I've shattered my heart

Far too long I have played with hellfire  
And science has turned into madness  
But I should have taken it higher  
So I feel, so I feel  
Like Judas must have felt before  
That Wednesday night near by the tree

I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
Take it away from me

Day after day we will gratefully suffer for more  
Predestined's our part so we bleed in the name of God

Don't believe in their eternity  
We're still held in blindness  
And I've been turned into a liar  
If there is no Heaven there won't be release

I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
Take it away from me

* * *

**Preview**

_Seras: _Um, I'm still not sure what to say in this one, no one has given me a script just yet.

_Alucard: _Such things are beneath us, Draculina. Say anything.

_Seras: _Are you sure?

_Grave: nods_

_Seras: _Who are you?

_Grave: soft smile_

**Chapter 6: Faith of the Heart**


	6. Faith of the Heart

A/N: This one is going to be a bit short, since I just wanted to set up the groundwork for later chapters. Oh, got Volume four today, so I'll be able to give more accurate info when referring to Millennium or anyone involved therein.

* * *

"How is it every time you go somewhere you manage to destroy whatever you're riding?" asked the mechanic.

Hunter shrugged. "That's a poser, alright."

Rolling his eyes, the mechanic turned back to the mangled remains of the motorcycle, muttering about the lead and silver rounds lodged in the cylinder and demanding bosses.

Hunter worked his arm in a circle as he turned and headed back for the lifts. Though healed, he was still a bit sore in spots where the Holy Water had burned in the deepest.

And from where Seras had bitten him the night before. He shook his head, remembering the interesting bits of their 'rehabilitation' of his body.

He was still daydreaming when Alucard walked through the wall of the lift.

"Are you just going to stand there all night, philosopher, or are you actually going to show up for the briefing?"

The Half-breed looked at the Nosferatu out of the corner of his eye. "I think I'll stay here. It's nice and quiet, away from sarcastic vampires and love struck half dead women." He smiled, the tips of his fangs glinting in the low light. "Has it started yet?"

"No, not quite," the No-Life King said. "We're still waiting for some papers from the lab on that sample." He began to fade back into the shadows. "But Integra is eager to start, so you might wish to show up soon."

Hunter shook his head as the lift doors opened.

"Why do I get the feeling I should have stayed in bed today?"

* * *

Integra advanced the projector to the next slide, showing a close up of the blood sample. "As you can see here," she said, highlighting a small cell with a laser pointer. "The virus attaches itself to the nucleus of the cell and attacks the DNA strands within. It specifically targets the markers that control the vampyric changes. However," she advanced it another slide.

"As you can see here, it is ineffectual against full blood vampires, those that have been released from the servant bond. Something in the genetic code is different."

Seras raised her hand, leaning forward. "So, basically, this is good only against fledglings?"

"It appears so at this time," the master of Hellsing said. "And against FREAKS, since they are no better than fledglings. It would account for the reports of FREAKS exploding during a sweep."

Alucard growled. "Who would develop something like this?"

Integra shrugged as she shut the projector down. "We don't know, but there are some clues offered in the analysis of the virus. There are some elements from a Japanese retrovirus designed to help fight the onslaught of AIDS, but that's all we've managed to determine thus far."

Hunter shook his head. "This can't just be a Japanese development. They've got the technicians, the resources to do something like this, but combating the FREAKS isn't high on their list since the STN-J deployed to track them down as well."

"Agreed," said Integra. "That is why I'm dispatching you and Alucard to a research facility in Los Angeles. There is an old acquaintance of mine that should be able to determine where this was made."

Hunter stood. "Apparate or commercial flight?"

Integra shook her head. "Neither, you will be taking a small N-22 widebody. I trust you are capable of flying such an aircraft?"

Hunter nodded, and then tossed his head at the vampire. "So we're taking his coffin as well."

Integra nodded. "It could be a few days before you get results, and we can't have you two popping in and out of the manor at anytime."

Alucard grunted. "But that's half the fun, Master," he purred.

Seras shook her head. "Almost thirty years and you still haven't gotten tired of that game yet?"

Alucard smiled as he phased out of the room.

"Not quite yet."

They all stood to leave and Integra cleared her throat.

"James,"

The Dhampir turned.

"Try to bring this vehicle back in one piece, if you could."

The man gave her a look that echoed his plaintive remark.

"Why is everyone reminding me of that?"

* * *

Seras walked through the graveyard, carrying a bouquet of flowers. She stopped by several markers, dropping two flowers on each of them.

Walter C. Ddollneazz.

Peter Fargason.

Richard Pickman.

Gareth Williams.

James Marsten.

George Reeks.

Bernard Orlando.

Keith Gates.

Nicholas Niles.

Stephen Nicks.

Every one of them people she had trained, worked with, loved in her own way. Then she came to the last marker, three flowers in her hand still. She laid them on the grass in front of the marker.

Pip Bernadette.

She knelt in front of the stone, brushing some dead leaves from the granite marker. She smiled, remembering the mercenary's cocksure grin.

"I wonder if you're looking down on me at times. I like to think you are, that you're happy wherever you are." She chuckled. "I'm happy now, I finally feel like I belong, just like you used to tell me on those nights. I think you'd like him, I really do."

She looked at the night sky. "I don't know why I tell you this every time I come out here. I'm sure you're getting tired of hearing it. But I've actually got something new to tell you this time. I just found out today."

She smiled.

* * *

Integra watched as the coffin was loaded onto the plane, the gold letters engraved at the foot glinting in the light.

_The Bird of Hermes is my name, Eating my wings to make me tame._

She smirked. _Just what the Hell does that mean, anyway?_

_The Police Girl knows, or suspects, Master._

She turned, seeing the red drape of the frockcoat swishing into view. She cocked an eyebrow at him. "Does she now?"

The vampire nodded. "I caught her researching it back shortly after we returned from South America. She seemed unusually interested in it." He chuckled. "She was amazingly astute on my reasons."

The blonde tossed her hair over her shoulder. "And are you going to explain it to me, or do I have to drag it out of you?"

Alucard smiled as he continued on towards the plane.

"Let's see what happens when I get back."

* * *

_Piano intro_

Cut off the light, take a look  
There's nothing beyond but pain  
Suffer in the deepest void  
The flame of hope is gone  
What have I done?  
Denied the Father and the Son  
For a moment it seemed  
There's space beyond the spheres  
  
Aflame the night  
So clear and bright  
Unstable light  
You've been sacrificed in fear  
Now there's one thing for sure  
I'm not afraid anymore!  
  
Day after day we've been fixed in this bowl for so long  
For ages we're captured in shells and crystallized walls  
  
Predestined or punished by Man or God?  
  
I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
Take it away from me  
  
And for a while astronomy's moved the Earth  
And we've turned around the Sun  
_Sanctum Officium_  
Has made me believe  
Has made me believe  
Has made me believe  
  
"We know for sure you're lying  
Would you like to mess with Holy Scion?  
You know the fear of dying  
Would it be worth it to hear you crying"  
I've slaughtered truth and I've shattered my heart  
  
Far too long I have played with hellfire  
And science has turned into madness  
But I should have taken it higher  
So I feel, so I feel  
Like Judas must have felt before  
That Wednesday night near by the tree  
  
I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
Take it away from me  
  
Day after day we will gratefully suffer for more  
Predestined's our part so we bleed in the name of God  
  
Don't believe in their eternity  
We're still held in blindness  
And I've been turned into a liar  
If there is no Heaven there won't be release  
  
I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
Take it away from me

* * *

**Preview**

_Seras: _Wait, what did I just find out?

_Author: _Isn't that a bit redundant? I have to tell you something you just found out?

_Seras: _Well, yeah. My script doesn't tell me.

_Author: _Ah, that's because I want to see if some sharp-eyed reader gets it first.

_Seras: _That's cruel, you git.

_Author: _Well, I get the feeling nobody is reading this one.

_Seras: _That's when you put a review requirement on it before you update it, you ninny!

**Chapter 7: Walk Through the Fire**


	7. Walk Through the Fire

A/N: Now we start speeding up the action as pieces fall into place. And congrats to StormBlazer for guessing the surprise right, though I suppose it was a bit obvious.

* * *

He reached up and flicked a switch on the overhead console, powering up the transponder that broadcast the information to an airport's control tower. He glanced back at the back of the cabin as the door opened and Alucard's lanky form came in, settling into the co-pilot's seat. 

"How long?" he asked as he glanced across the controls with a slight air of distaste.

Hunter gave a loose shouldered shrug. "Ten, maybe fifteen minutes to Los Angeles, then maybe another thirty minutes if the landing pattern is full." He adjusted the radio frequency to that used most often by American airports. "In any case, I need to get ready and broadcast our approach. If you want to go and get a bite to drink or something, be my guest."

The vampire stood and left as Hunter adjusted the altitude and glanced at the slats control, making sure it was still in the locked position. The N-22 had a problem with the slats deploying in mid-flight in the past, and while only a novice pilot would have difficulty correcting the problem, he wanted to avoid things like that occurring in the middle of trying to land the plane. He pulled the microphone on his headset a bit lower and hit the transmit switch.

"LAX Tower, this is Hellsing 257 out of London, approaching your airspace. Requesting permission to enter the landing pattern."

A voice came back a moment later, cool and rather bored. "Hellsing 257, LAX Tower. Permission granted to enter the landing grid. Hold position at Angels 3 by two."

Hunter acknowledged the orders and descended to three thousand feet and proceeded to hold a circling pattern two miles out. He set the autopilot to hold this position and stood, going to the back cabin to check his 'baggage' and get something to eat. Alucard was perched in one of the chairs, long legs crossed and a half-drunk blood pack in his hands. His coffin lay in the aisle, the dark wood gleaming in the cabin lights.

"So, how are you going to get my coffin through the security?" asked the No-Life King.

Hunter shrugged as he pulled a sandwich from the small refrigerator in the galley. He took a large bite out of it and sat down in a chair facing the vampire. "I thought about using some of your mind control on the customs official, but why do that when we can simply have the plane 'transferred' to another base for routine maintenance? The Norton factory isn't too far from here, and this one is old enough that having it return to the factory for upgrades wouldn't be out of the ordinary."

Alucard gestured to the case that sat at the Dhampir's feet. "And that?" he asked.

He toed the case with his left foot. "Well, let's just hope that whoever lets me through hasn't seen Desperado."

The control panel pinged, indicating that there was someone attempting to contact them through the radio. Hunter rushed up to the cockpit, pulling his headset on and hitting the transmit switch.

"Tower, H 257, go ahead."

A different voice came on the channel, one that sounded younger and with a trace of urgency in it. "H 257, you are cleared for immediate landing on runway one. Repeat, you have clearance for immediate landing on runway one."

Hunter frowned. The voice sounded familiar."Tower, H 257. Not that I'm objecting, but why the clearance? I count five planes with prior arrivals."

The voice came back. "H 257, Tower. You are cleared because we have a situation in the terminal that requires your, unique, touch."

Hunter stiffened. "Tower, H 257. Define 'situation' if you would, please."

"H 257, Tower. It's bad, and civilians are involved as well."

_Shit. _"Alucard! The terminal! GO!"

He felt the shift as the vampire phased from the plane, as well as the sense of expectation of fun.

"Tower, H 257. Help is en route. Coming in for a landing."

"Roger H 257. Call the ball."

As Hunter lined the small plane up, he called out to Alucard.

_Leave some for me, will you?_

_Hurry up then, Thanatos. _

_

* * *

_Seras sat back and smiled at Integra's shocked look. The master of Hellsing was up a moment later, coming forward and hugging the woman. 

"Congratulations," she said, smiling. "Have you told James yet?"

She shook her head. "No, he was gone before the results came in, and at this distance telepathic communication is iffy at best, as you know." She smiled, a hand brushing across her abdomen. "But I still can't help but wonder if this is the right thing, to bring a child into the world at this time, with all that's going on."

Integra smiled warmly. "I'm sure our parents asked the same question, Seras. After all, the world is always in turmoil, and the prospects of parenthood are daunting." The taller woman trailed off, her mind drifting.

"London to Sir Integra," came the soft voice of Seras. She shook her head, clearing her musings. She smiled apologetically at the other woman.

"Sorry, don't know where I went." She brushed her hands against her sleeves, flicking away non-existent lint from the material.

Seras smiled softly. "Have you and Alucard talked about it?" she asked.

Integra smiled wistfully. "The question had been raised, but it never really went any further than discussion. Still though, there have been times that I envy those with a family, something that I feel I had to leave behind when I took the reins of this organization."

Seras reached out and gripped the older woman's hand.

"There are still a lot of years left where you can have that family, Integra. Meanwhile," she grinned. "You want to leave the serious part of our duties behind and go out like two normal women?"

"And do what, Major?" asked the blonde, her eyes smiling.

"Well, I _am _pregnant," she said, rising. "That means in nine months we're going to have to have a nursery set up." She took her friend's arm and guided her for the door.

"Who better to help me design the room's décor than one of my friends? Sides, Eugene would just start crying at the idea."

They both laughed as the image of the normally tough commander shedding tears of joy went through their minds.

* * *

James did a post-flight in record time, leaping from the pilot's chair and racing for the aft compartment, pausing long enough to snag his pistols from their hiding place inside the guitar case, placing the weapons slides against his legs and pushing down, causing them to slide back and snap back into place, chambering rounds. He then phased out to the terminal in time to see Alucard thrusting his hand through the chest of a large FREAK that leapt at him. He spun as motion caught his eye and fired Abel into the skull of the ghoul that had levered itself out from behind the baggage claim. 

There weren't any civilians left, save those that were now ghouls or dead. James shook his head. More senseless losses. He fired another round to his left without looking, dusting the FREAK that rounded the corner. He could feel his eyes shifting, fangs growing slightly. He grinned as he tucked his pistols away for a moment, letting himself take a few on with his bare hands as his comrade was.

Alucard meanwhile had picked up one of the ghouls and flung it across the room, driving it and one of its companions back into a small sculpture, impaling them on one of the sharp spires that rose from the abstract art. He grinned and turned to fire the Jackal at another ghoul, the round ripping through it and the one behind it, depositing both on the ground as ashes.

He took a moment to consider his pistol, rebuilt so carefully after the incident with Incognito. He had gotten it back just in time to go to Rio de Janeiro, the fight with the military police and Tubalcaine Alhambra. What a rout that had been, one worthy of his time, though it had been frightfully brief. His moment of reflection over, he fired another two rounds, clearing the last of the FREAKS and ghouls out from his sight.

Hunter similarly finished his hunt and brushed his hands off. "That was fun," he said, smirking.

"It's about time you two got here," a voice said.

Turning, Alucard saw a tall, broad shouldered man step from the shadows. He had a wool coat over his frame and his short hair wasn't combed quite straight.

"Well, well," said the No-Life King. "It's been quite some time, Angelus."

"Actually, Alucard, its Angel now," said Hunter, stepping forward and extending his hand. "I thought it was your voice on the comm. How've you been?"

The tall man shook his hand and smiled. "Bout as you'd expect. Still got Spike to deal with and Buffy is taking her sweet time in choosing between us. But then, I ain't getting any older."

"How'd you know we were coming?" purred Alucard.

"The scientist in charge of the facility you were planning on visiting has a good friend of mine in their employ, someone I used to know as Fred. She passed the word on to me, and I merely made sure that I was on hand when the time came. Good thing, too, otherwise this place would have been turned into a buffet." He stuck his hands into his pockets. "Shall we?"

Hunter looked at Alucard and shrugged.

"What about cleanup?" asked the Dhampir.

Angel waved it off. "People in LA have seen worse than piles of dust and bullet ridden walls. After all," he said as he turned to stalk away.

"There have been at least four apocalypse attempts since I've been here."

* * *

Ezekiel Kane smiled at the report from Doctor Thompson. "You're sure of this?" he asked. 

The doctor nodded, fear evident in his eyes. "There is no mistake. This is the tracer enzyme common to both samples. I could give more information if I had more to work with, but you haven't told me much other than to look for a common enzyme in two blood samples."

The man nodded and waved his hand in dismissal. "Very well. You've earned a few days rest. Use them well."

The doctor fled as well as he could on his injured leg.

He considered the implications of this find. A new change to the virus. One that would be able to take care of all vampires, not just the artificial ones and the weak fledglings.

He smiled, allowing his sharp teeth to show. It was all going according to plan.

* * *

_Piano intro_

Cut off the light, take a look   
There's nothing beyond but pain   
Suffer in the deepest void   
The flame of hope is gone   
What have I done?   
Denied the Father and the Son   
For a moment it seemed   
There's space beyond the spheres

Aflame the night   
So clear and bright   
Unstable light   
You've been sacrificed in fear   
Now there's one thing for sure   
I'm not afraid anymore!

Day after day we've been fixed in this bowl for so long   
For ages we're captured in shells and crystallized walls

Predestined or punished by Man or God?

I cannot, I will not   
Deny it's false innocence   
I cannot, I will not   
The age of false innocence   
Take it away from me

And for a while astronomy's moved the Earth   
And we've turned around the Sun   
_Sanctum Officium_   
Has made me believe   
Has made me believe   
Has made me believe

"We know for sure you're lying   
Would you like to mess with Holy Scion?   
You know the fear of dying   
Would it be worth it to hear you crying"   
I've slaughtered truth and I've shattered my heart

Far too long I have played with hellfire   
And science has turned into madness   
But I should have taken it higher   
So I feel, so I feel   
Like Judas must have felt before   
That Wednesday night near by the tree

I cannot, I will not   
Deny it's false innocence   
I cannot, I will not   
The age of false innocence   
Take it away from me

Day after day we will gratefully suffer for more   
Predestined's our part so we bleed in the name of God

Don't believe in their eternity   
We're still held in blindness   
And I've been turned into a liar   
If there is no Heaven there won't be release

I cannot, I will not   
Deny it's false innocence   
I cannot, I will not   
The age of false innocence   
I cannot, I will not   
Deny it's false innocence   
I cannot, I will not   
The age of false innocence   
Take it away from me

* * *

**Preview**

_Seras: _So I'm going to have a baby?

_Author: _Yes, but don't get too worked up about it yet, that's still many chapters and nine months away.

_Seras: _Don't get worked up about it? How can't I?This is great news, HUGE news. James!

_Hunter: _What?

_Seras: _Did you hear?

_Author: _Actually, Major, I'd like it if you would give the preview for the next chapter before informing your husband.

_Hunter: _Inform me of what?

**Chapter 8:Peacekeeper**


	8. Peacekeeper

A/N: I had some help with this chapter and I want to give due thanks to the person in question, so read through to find out who it was...

* * *

"You realize I have absolutely no idea what we're doing," Integra pointed out as they wandered through the baby isle in the department stores at the mall, looking at the various bits of fluffy animals and frilly clothes. "I know nothing about shopping for children's toys orwhatnot." 

Seras shrugged as she picked up a cute stuffed teddy, subconsciously holding it like a child. "More for the company than the opinion."

"Seras! Indeed!" Integra scoffed, mock offended.

"Kidding, kidding," Seras waved her hand in the air as if to erase the tease she had just thrown at her boss, a sly grin blossoming, so familiar to the Hellsing master as also showing up on her husband's face more often than not.

Each place they went to proved to have something new in store for them. Seras, having had a somewhat normal childhood until her parents died, wasn't having a hard time coping with all of the cute things around her. Every time something new passed into her vision, she cooed at it as though it was the most precious thing she had ever seen.

Integra on the other time was stuck in a limbo of also thinking things were cute, but at the same time hoping she wasn't going to be sick with all the sugary wholesomeness of the stores' décor. Being brought up in a man's world had its drawbacks. She had never seen around so much pink and blue and purple since Seras had opted for to clean out her closet for more traditional clothes.

"You look like you're about to loose your lunch," Seras pointed out as she poked a mobile into spinning, listening to the song it played.

"Being brought up in the world of men does eliminate the factor of preparing for or dreaming about children," Integra said and was rewarded by a large yellow duck plushie hitting her in the face. "What was that for?" she asked, arching a pale blonde eyebrow at her shorter companion.

"Chief, please do pardon what I'm about to say, but lighten up!" her red eyes sparkled with amusement, the flecks of blue in them glinting in the light as she let them slide into their normal guise for a moment. "This is one of the few things we can rub in men's faces because they _can't_ do this. You're a woman, be proud of it."

"You're asking me to go against everything I had to make myself do to get through my work," Integra said as she tossed the ducky back at the vampire, who caught it with a girlish grin. "I was a bad choice to bring with you. This is simply too far from the realm I am familiar with. If Walter were here he would have been a better choice than me. Hell, Alucard may have been a better choice."

Seras snorted into laughter, imagining the large red clad vampire walking down in the baby's department. She passed the image on to Integra, who leaned against a crib and struggled to keep from bursting with laughter as well.

"Remind me not to mention anything to do with babies near Alucard," Integra said as she wiped a tear from her eyes, still snickering, "I don't think I could hold a straight face."

"Nor I," Seras giggled as she held the stuffed duck, "Okay, this is mine now."

"And every time we look at it we'll think of Alucard and burst in insane giggles in front of anyone who happens to be in our company," Integra clicked her tongue against her almost vestigial fangs.

"Integra, we are forgetting the second objective of this mission," Seras said as she paid for the various items, mostly wallpaper swatches, design books, a book on the progressions of pregnancy, and a few small things that consisted of rattles or that said 'mama.'

"And what would that be, Major?" the leader of the Order of Royal Protestant Knights Hellsing asked.

"To have fun and forget life for a bit. Come on," she said, grinning like a teenager. "Let's go to the food court and do something I did all the time as a teen."

Integra looked at her with something akin to cautious fright. "And what would that be, Ms. Punk Rocker?"

Seras flushed as she recalled the costume she had worn for the last Halloween ball, the outfit she usually wore to the concerts she liked to frequent. "Simply, Lady of Steel," she said, tucking the folded bills of her change into the back pocket of her jeans.

"We're going to watch cute boys walk by."

Integra's eyebrow quirked upwards.

"Now that's something I think I can do."

* * *

Hunter looked at the screen as the tech shifted through various magnifications. The computer scanned the image and various small notations appeared on the screen, pointing out things in a language that looked like English but was incomprehensible to him. Alucard was behind him, enjoying the looks that his presence and fanged grin brought to the faces of the technicians. Angel stood nearby, his dour face canted in a look of confusion as the technician began to spout off what he saw. 

"It looks as though someone took the tracer enzymes from the new Japanese retrovirus and crossed it with a TAG-2 bio-toxin. I've never seen anything like this before. Where did you get this?"

"It was a gift from a relative," said Alucard. "Now what can you tell us about this?"

"That if it wasn't for the uselessness of this sample, it would be a hell of a problem for humanity. It is designed to hunt down a genetic marker and rip it to shreds, and the way it's been attacking the sample, I'd say it wouldn't be fun for the recipient. However, outside of that, I really can't tell you anymore than you already know."

Angel spoke up. "I took the liberty of researching anything unusual about places that have had anything to do with any of the components you contacted this lab about. It turns out that three labs around the world have been attacked in the last six months. There were no survivors, various bits of technology stolen, and at least one scientist missing."

Hunter looked up. "At least one? Nothing more accurate than that?"

The other vampire shrugged. "It means that there isn't enough left of one of the bodies to fill a thimble, so they just list them as missing. Hey," he said gesturing at the technical readouts. "I do the best I can."

Alucard grinned wide, standing up and drawing a bloodpack from his jacket. "Well, then, if there is nothing of any import to be found here, I think we should go and find something that you can't analyze with a microscope."

Hunter shook his head. "I don't think we're going to go feed on the various citizens of LA, Alucard. It's not polite."

The No-Life King's smile grew twice as big. "Nonsense. I merely meant that we should go and poke around to see if we can find something in the underworld about those attacks. After all, don't the two of you have vast connections in this part of the Colonies?"

Angel nodded. "I've got pretty much everything Wolfram and Hart has on demonic and otherwise evil activity for the last three hundred years. You should see my file."

Hunter pulled out his cell phone and flipped it open.

"Time to call an old boss," he said as he dialled a number.

* * *

The two women sat on a bench in the lower level of the mall, swapping jokes and finishing up the malts they had gotten from one of the vendors. A tall man walked by, swathed in a trench coat and a sharp business suit. As he passed from earshot, Seras leaned over to Integra and murmured in her ear. 

"Now doesn't he look familiar?"

Integra shook her head. "He doesn't look a bit like Alucard. He's too short."

Seras grinned. "And he actually has a build, unlike some people I know."

Integra gave her a light shove, a smile creeping across her face. "That was uncalled for, Police Girl."

The shorter woman smiled as she sat upright again. "Yeah, but outside of that, he was kind of cute."

The leader of Hellsing merely shook her head in amused exasperation.

"Excuse me," a voice said from behind them. They turned and saw a slender lady standing there, clothed in a fashionable mock corset dress and a light denim jacket. She looked at them with something akin to urgency.

Integra rose. "Yes, how can we help you?"

The woman looked around, then spoke in a hurried voice. "You are Integra Hellsing, right?"

Integra nodded, used to the publicity that her group had gotten in recent years. Her face, as well as those of her top officials, were rather famous in England now. She, Seras, James, and the various members of the Wild Geese had appeared on the evening news several times now.

The woman reached out and gripped her wrist, the iron in her grip surprising the woman. She heard Seras leap to her feet and reach for her concealed pistol, but she stopped the motion almost as soon as it started.

_Too many civilians around, Chief._

_I understand. I think I can handle this._

She twisted her wrist and freed herself from the vice-like grip, then looked at the woman. "Explain yourself."

It was not an invitation.

The woman looked at her with a mournful expression. "You must get a message to someone."

"We are not the local postal service," Integra snapped.

"True, but only you can convey this message to James," she said.

Integra was shocked, and she heard Seras' sharp hiss, which transformed into a low growl at the menacing and ominous way the words were said.

"What makes you think that we know a James?" Integra asked.

"Please, Sir Hellsing, don't play coy with me. I watch the telly. I know that he works with you, and has for some time now."

Seras' growl rose, still too faint for human ears, but loud enough for Integra and the mysterious woman to recognize her emotions. Integra put a hand on her arm and thought at her forcefully.

_Get a grip on yourself, Major!_

She visibly calmed, but the growling persisted.

"How do you know we know him personally?" the strawberry-blonde asked between gritted teeth.

The woman smiled faintly, as though she had won some sort of victory.

"Because I can smell his essence in your blood, child. Such things are not easy to mistake."

The simple statement brought both of them up short. She could smell James' essence in Seras' blood?

"Oh yes, and please make sure James gets this message," the woman said. "Phoenix is on the rise again." She turned and walked away, slowly disappearing from the room.

"She had an unusual scent about herself," Integra said as her surprise eased.

"She did," Seras nodded in agreement.

"Now, why did you feel in necessary to growl at her?"

Seras shrugged. "I don't know. It just sounded like she was threatening us, and him. He is my husband, and no one threatens my family. I've suffered enough loss in my life."

Integra nodded, her mind flashing on the faces that they had both known.

"I wouldn't have worried about it too much, Police Girl. _No _one threatens one of my officers," Integra said as she turned to look at Seras, "Not without hearing from me. Besides, especially with you in such a delicate condition, you should take it easy with your activities and reactions." She gave her a lopsided grin and dodged a playful blow from the vampress.

Seras frowned at the terms and tried for another unsuccessful swat. "Integra!"

The platinum haired woman smiled, then turned serious.

"But what do you suppose that cryptic message means? Phoenix is rising?"

* * *

Ezekiel Kane looked on as the vampire in the room began to shudder in horrid convulsions. His skin was already blistering from the internal heat generated by his own body, and his eyes had long since been rendered useless. 

Kane watched as it pulled itself along the floor, seeking any sort of comfort. It came across the plate glass table that still held the tiny bloodpack that had contained the virus. The vampire felt it, and then shook in another round of spasms. The skin of his face was turning black now, flaking off and falling to the ground.

"Excellent," said Kane. "Simply marvelous."

The vampire raised his hand and smashed the glass tabletop. Kane smirked. Such a useless venting of rage. Then he realized what it was doing and watched as the undead creature slashed its own neck, separating its head from its shoulders.

Kane looked over at the cowering scientist. "How long from inception to symptoms?" he asked.

The doctor wrung his hands. "Around eighty hours to the onset of the first sign of contagion. However, it could vary subject to subject, so I would guess a baseline anywhere from seventy to ninety hours for complete infection."

"And until we reach this delightful level?"

"Around sixty hours from the first symptoms."

"Too slow," the man said, the mismatched eyes burning into the scientist.

"I understand your requests, sir," babbled the meek man. "But to speed it up any would render it too dangerous or ineffective, and you stressed that effect was the utmost importance."

Kane nodded. He'd rather have a slow degeneration of a vampire than a quick death that put others at risk. He still had parts of the notions from his time in the Maáquë Brotherhood stuck in his head, despite his best attempts to oust them.

_Never involve the innocent or the families,_

_Never kill without need,_

_Always return what is taken._

He snorted. Such foolish notions, yet he still couldn't get them out of his head at times. He turned to the scientist again.

"And the contagion factor?"

"Right now it has to be passed through ingestion of blood that is infected, but we're working on making it airborne. It should be ready in another day."

Kane smiled.

"Good,"

* * *

_Piano intro_

Cut off the light, take a look  
There's nothing beyond but pain  
Suffer in the deepest void  
The flame of hope is gone  
What have I done?  
Denied the Father and the Son  
For a moment it seemed  
There's space beyond the spheres

Aflame the night  
So clear and bright  
Unstable light  
You've been sacrificed in fear  
Now there's one thing for sure  
I'm not afraid anymore!

Day after day we've been fixed in this bowl for so long  
For ages we're captured in shells and crystallized walls

Predestined or punished by Man or God?

I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
Take it away from me

And for a while astronomy's moved the Earth  
And we've turned around the Sun  
_Sanctum Officium_  
Has made me believe  
Has made me believe  
Has made me believe

"We know for sure you're lying  
Would you like to mess with Holy Scion?  
You know the fear of dying  
Would it be worth it to hear you crying"  
I've slaughtered truth and I've shattered my heart

Far too long I have played with hellfire  
And science has turned into madness  
But I should have taken it higher  
So I feel, so I feel  
Like Judas must have felt before  
That Wednesday night near by the tree

I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
Take it away from me

Day after day we will gratefully suffer for more  
Predestined's our part so we bleed in the name of God

Don't believe in their eternity  
We're still held in blindness  
And I've been turned into a liar  
If there is no Heaven there won't be release

I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
Take it away from me  
**

* * *

**

**Preview**

_Seras_: In our next chapter of Brotherhood,we...

_Alucard's Familiar_: Um...I think I took a wrong turn at Chapter 2

_Seras_: Alucard's Familiar? It's been a while, good to see you.

_Alucard's Familiar_: Good to see you too, Seras. (glances around) Sir Integra isn't around, is she?

_Seras_: Not at the moment.

_Author_: Major, could you fill her in on events? I invited her in to help with the previews, maybe increase the review rate.

_Seras_: Oh, of course! (grabs AF's hands) I'm preganant!

_Alucard's Familiar_: (jaw drop, sweat drop) Wha?

_Hunter_: Pregnant? What, how? When?

_Seras_: I believe you were there, dear. Integra is a Half-Blood now,

_Alucard's Familiar_: (shocked look) WTF?

_Seras_: And Walter died a while ago.

_Alucard's Familiar_: Okay I think I read that one, but still...

_Author_: See what happens when you go on extended leave? The natural helix get's twisted the other way 'round.

_Seras_: And we're about to find out just what the deal with the virus is, as soon as Integra gets back from the…(eyes fly open wide)...oh bollocks...

_Integra_: (Phasing in) I've got the lab...WHAT THE HELL?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? WHAT IS SHE DOING HERE, YOU BLOODY PUPPETMASTER?!?

_Alucard's Familiar_: (sliding away slowly) I think this is a bad time for me to be here!

_Author_: Ooops, forgot about that part of history....(Integra chases AF around the room, crashes through coffee table)... Oh, come on, I just got that one. Integra, put Anderson's blades back in the Astral plane this isntant!!!

_Alucard_: Knowing the past as you do, you think she'll let her go, philosopher?

_Hunter_: I've got forty quid on the virgin of steel.

_Alucard_: I'm betting on the short one.

_Author_: Don't make me remind you of a certain incident involving Chibi Cromwells and noodles, O No-Life King.

_Alucard_: o.O You wouldn't...

_Author_: (mimic's his smirk)

_Hunter_: Hold on, I'm going to be a father? And what the HELL IS A CHIBI?

_Alucard's Familiar_: (Hanging from wall with a blade nailing her there through the collar of her shirt) Let me down! I did not come here to be crucified!

_Cromwell_: Next Chapter, Blue Chalk

**Chapter 9: Blue Chalk**


	9. Blue Chalk

A/N: Ok, so I'm retreading the cameo bit, but I enjoy fitting several characters from various stories together, but I think you'll like the one character and the interactions later on. Also, not a lot of plot advancement in this one, just the revelation of who the woman in the mall was and just how highly placed she is within the Corporation and the rebirth of some lines from Grace.

* * *

"So how do you know that these people would help, Thanatos?" the vampire asked. 

Hunter shrugged as he leveled the plane out and set the autopilot.

"It's just a guess on my end, but considering I was one of their top agents, I highly doubt the Corporation would deny a request for help." He tweaked a dial and examined a data display. "Besides, it lets us stop off home for a while since the agent we need to contact is in London right now."

Alucard scanned the control board of the N-22. "Just how do you follow any of this?"

The Dhampir shrugged again. "It was just something that caught my eye. Rather like Coke did back when it was first mass marketed."

The vampire sighed. "It just doesn't taste the same now that they took the cocaine out."

Hunter rolled his eyes.

* * *

Seras placed two strips down next to each other. "How about these?" 

Integra rolled her eyes. "Good Lord, only you would think those looked nice together."

The vampress glared at her, softening it with a smile. "And what do you suggest, Chief?"

The leader of Hellsing put down the book she had been thumbing through, marveling at the various stages of pregnancy and walked over. She glanced over the various colors and slid two to the side.

"There," she said and plopped back down in her chair.

Seras looked at the swatches. "Those are rather bland," she said, looking at the grey and light blue that the woman had selected.

"Better bland than garish," the taller woman said, flipping into the third trimester. "You don't want to hurt the poor thing's eyes."

Seras looked at her and shook her head, the braid swishing across her back. "I'm still a little amazed that I'm pregnant. I mean, I thought that since I'm dead and all, I was incapable of something like this."

Integra put the book down and looked at her. "You've been in this state for sixteen years and you haven't bothered to find out the most basic thing about your new body? Really, Police Girl, I expected better of you."

She rose, crossing to the massive bookcase on the wall.

"Vampires are undead, not dead. People who classify them as walking corpses are the most ignorant of the world of the supernatural or superstitious wankers that have watched too much television. Tell me, Seras, do you have to eat or drink?"

The short woman nodded. "Yeah, of course. So do you, James, and Alucard."

Integra nodded. "Now tell me, is there anything else you do that you also did while you were alive?"

Seras flushed. "A couple of things, yeah."

"All biological in origin, I assume?"

"Yeah."

Integra turned to face her. "Tell me if it follows, if something fits the basic tenants of what determines life, does it not follow that it is alive? You consume sustenance and you excrete waste, doesn't it follow that the third tenant of life would also hold true?"

Seras nodded. "Still though, it's a shock. I wonder how James is going to take it when I tell him."

Integra smiled.

"If I were you, I think I'd tell him very gently."

* * *

Hunter lined the plane up. 

"Coming up on the airfield, Alucard. Ready to see familiar faces again?"

The vampire came up and plopped bonelessly into the copilot's chair. "Rather, though I'm just as interested in getting this show into the second act. I'm ready for a little bit of action. The FREAKS just aren't giving me a challenge anymore."

Hunter snorted. "Like they did in the first place."

Alucard tilted his head in nostalgia. "Actually, some did. The Valentine boy, what's-his-name, for example. And Alhambra."

"Both of whom you more or less mopped the floor with the moment you started using your familiars and powers," pointed out the half-breed.

"So? At least they lasted that long," the vampire retorted. "Few have that honor."

The Dhampir looked at the vampire. "I doubt that those you've devoured would count it as an honor, you know. Becoming someone's blood slave is actually more of a Hell in my mind. Not to mention that somehow Rip escaped your grip."

"Though I'd like to remove myself from that topic, I agree. I thought I had enveloped her completely, soul and body. Her soul is still a servant, I can feel it." He frowned. "It is an interesting puzzle."

Hunter shook his head. "I'll never understand how you can be so casual about holding people's souls as servants," he muttered.

A fanged grin met him in the low light of the cabin.

_James?_

Sitting up, he recognized Seras' mental touch.

And the light that she cast in his mind seemed different, almost doubled, like a binary star. He frowned. What would be causing that echo, that reflection, since there wasn't anyone else that he held a bond with like her. No one else had partaken in his blood, which served to help strengthen the mental link.

_What is it, Seras? _he asked.

_Hurry home. You've got to hear this, _she thought with a smirk before letting the contact fade.

Alucard looked at him.

"You two are sickening at times, you know that right?"

Hunter glared at the orange lenses of his friend's glasses, trying to bore into the eyes behind them.

"Shut up, letch."

* * *

The room was dark, filled with smoke, and had the requisite number of drunken idiots and sober loners trying to not be seen. The woman looked about, her red hair drifting across her face and shading her green eyes. 

"You had to pick this place, didn't you?" she said, flicking her gaze at the detritus around the pool table in front of them as she lined up her last shot, the blue residue from the cue chalk rubbing off on the smooth felt of the table.

"It's an old rule of espionage, Rayne. Hide in plain sight and it's harder to find you. Besides, the order to meet with them came from the head."

Rayne looked at her companion, amazed. "You mean,"

The woman across from her nodded, the mock lacings of the corset dress she wore seeming to shimmer in the low light. "That's right," she said.

"Richard himself ordered us to meet with him. Oh, and my dear," she said, reaching out to push Rayne's mouth shut.

"Your fangs are showing," she finished, chuckling.

Rayne looked at her, a glimmering of good humored anger tinting her eyes as she leaned against the cue.

"Just keep talking," she said, tilting her head to allow the crimson locks to hide her eyes. Her cohort quieted down. "Good decision, but you should have made it sooner, honey."

The redhead glanced at her watch. "Just how long is he going to be, anyway?"

The other woman sighed. "He's married and has just spent some time away from his wife who has some interesting news to share with him. Be patient."

Rayne snorted and sunk the eight ball.

"That was never one of my strong points."

* * *

Hunter looked around the room, noting the hurried signs of cleanup from some project and the yellow duck plush sitting on a shelf. 

_That is something I'm going to have to ask about, _he thought as his brow furrowed.

"It's a long story." came Seras' voice from behind him.

He turned, cocking an eyebrow at his wife.

"Stay out of my mind, Police Girl."

She smirked. "Welcome back. So, what do you want for Christmas, honey?"

"Seras, last time I looked, Christmas was a good eight and a half months away. A bit early to be asking me that, don't you think?"

She grinned.

"Well, I thought I'd ask, since it'll take about eight more months to make it," she said, sauntering up to him and taking his hand, wrapping herself up in his arms. She laid his hand on her abdomen.

"So, I'll ask again. Which would you like, a boy or a girl?"

Hunter felt his jaw drop. "You mean you're…"

Seras smirked. "Yeah,"

"And then I'm…"

"Uh huh,"

"And that means…"

Seras kissed him. "Hush, dear," she said.

"You're rambling again."

* * *

_Piano intro_

Cut off the light, take a look  
There's nothing beyond but pain  
Suffer in the deepest void  
The flame of hope is gone  
What have I done?  
Denied the Father and the Son  
For a moment it seemed  
There's space beyond the spheres

Aflame the night  
So clear and bright  
Unstable light  
You've been sacrificed in fear  
Now there's one thing for sure  
I'm not afraid anymore!

Day after day we've been fixed in this bowl for so long  
For ages we're captured in shells and crystallized walls

Predestined or punished by Man or God?

I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
Take it away from me

And for a while astronomy's moved the Earth  
And we've turned around the Sun  
_Sanctum Officium_  
Has made me believe  
Has made me believe  
Has made me believe

"We know for sure you're lying  
Would you like to mess with Holy Scion?  
You know the fear of dying  
Would it be worth it to hear you crying"  
I've slaughtered truth and I've shattered my heart

Far too long I have played with hellfire  
And science has turned into madness  
But I should have taken it higher  
So I feel, so I feel  
Like Judas must have felt before  
That Wednesday night near by the tree

I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
Take it away from me

Day after day we will gratefully suffer for more  
Predestined's our part so we bleed in the name of God

Don't believe in their eternity  
We're still held in blindness  
And I've been turned into a liar  
If there is no Heaven there won't be release

I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
Take it away from me

**

* * *

**

**Preview**

_Seras: _In the next Chapter of Brotherhood, we reveal just who the Corporation is, their ties to the world of the supernatural and Hunter's reaction to being a Father. (pauses) I can't believe I actually finished a preview. What is going on?

_Author: _Sorry, your husband and I were in the middle of a huge combat action.

_Seras: _Combat action? In the middle of the mansion?

_Hunter: _Halo 2. It's addicting.

_Author: _Makes it hard to get new stuff written.

_Seras: _(shakes head) Gamers....

_Author: _Hey!

_Rayne_: Settle down, at least he's come up with some good ideas to put in later chapters.

_Integra: _Has he? Like?

_Author: _That would be telling.

_Anderson: _Next Chapter, The Sinister Minister

_Seras: _Is he going to show up?

**Chapter 10: The Sinister Minister**

**

* * *

**

A/N: Ok, I'm going to have to go and re-play BloodRayne to try and get her character down. Anyone willing to offer their takes, you know where my email address is.


	10. The Sinister Minister

"I still can't believe it," murmured James, his breath causing the loose hairs on the back of Seras' neck bend and sway. "I mean, I'm horrible with kids. I feel uncomfortable, like I'm going to hurt them or something."

She reached back and rapped the back of his head lightly. "Hush," she said sternly. "We were discussing names, you know."

"I know. Doesn't change my awe,"

"Or dampen your excitement," she countered.

"Ok, mea culpa. You got me on that one." He pressed his face into her shoulder, his nose perched just over the dip of where her collarbone met her arm. "Rhiannon Marie," he mumbled.

"That's pretty," Seras said. "I like the song too."

"Rhiannon is more than just a song, dear girl. It's the name of a Welsh goddess that was rather independent minded. Just like another woman I know," he said, kissing her shoulder.

"Kiss up," the vampress smirked.

"You do realize of course that morning sickness is going to kick in any day now, right?"

"Don't remind me," Seras groaned. "John Michael," she said, twisting to lie on her back, looking back at her husband.

"Good Biblical names, as a knight of the Protestant Church should suggest," he said.

A knock at the door drowned out anything that either would have said next. "Come in," Seras called, brushing wayward strands of hair out of her eyes.

Integra walked in, a slight smile on her face. "I see the news is out," she said, a smirk blossoming.

James looked between the two of them, sitting up slightly. "You knew about this?" he asked the head of Hellsing.

"Who do you think went with her to pick out the new literature?" she countered, gesturing at the small stack of books on the table.

James reached back and fumbled about for one of the pillows and hurled it at the blonde. "Et Tu, Brute? I am surrounded by conspirators! No Rome of safety for Octavius!"

Integra easily dodged the projectile, chuckling along with Seras. "Actually, I thought it better if your wife told you instead of me blurting it out when you reported back in earlier. Thank you for bringing the plane back in one piece, by the way."

"Jumping Jehosephat, am I damned by that one car twelve years ago?"

Seras chimed in. "And the six times with the bike, that one handcart on the railway in Scotland, the escalator in the mall at Bucklebury,"

Integra added her bit as well. "And those two horses in Wales."

James raised his eyes to the ceiling.

* * *

Ezekiel Kane knelt down, taking the proffered hand. 

"Your presence honors me, Father Rick," he said, rising to his feet again. "After all, without you, I wouldn't be able to carry out this research. And you are just in time to…"

He was cut off by the rising of a hand, the ring on the middle finger glittering. "This is all well and good, Phoenix, but I grow impatient. I wish to see what my funding has gone towards."

The man smiled, and led the priest down the corridor where the next phase of the experiment was supposed to begin. They were almost there when a crash was heard, and upon rounding the corner they found that one of the vampires had broken free of its cell.

Kane started to pull his pistol but was stopped by a harsh word from the priest.

"No,"

Kane looked at the man, the long brown hair tied in a loose tail, his face worked in a smug smile.

"He's mine. It's been a while since I went toe to toe with a vampire."

Kane inclined his head, stepping to the side. The man stepped forward, withdrawing a wooden handle with a glittering metal end from his robes. He flicked his wrist, and the metal coil at the end shot out, revealing itself to be a long chain, a wicked barb at one end.

It was a one sided fight the entire time.

* * *

James shrugged into his duster, Cain and Abel hidden at the small of his back. "So this woman," he said, looking at Seras as she pulled on a shoulder holster to hide the Gravedigger from view beneath her denim jacket. "She said Phoenix was on the rise again?" 

"Yeah," the Vampiress said as she changed her crimson eyes back to the soft blue they had once been. "She seemed really determined to let you know about it, too."

The Dhampir's eyes slid back to the past.

"I haven't heard that name in a long time," he said, murmuring. "He was part of a group of bounty hunters I belonged to prior to the First World War. But he corrupted the group, making them mere mercenaries, pirates. I wonder what he's up to that made Milleara come out of her hiding to warn me."

"Milleara?"

"From the way you described her, it sounded like an old friend, Milleara D'roena. We both worked for the Corporation, teaming up from time to time. She's a dragon, something that you don't want to mess with."

Seras looked at him. "A dragon," she said disbelievingly.

A grey blue eye speared her. "What, you don't believe that they exist?"

"Well there is the fact that they haven't been seen for a few hundred millennia," she said.

"When you get hunted for what you are, you learn to disguise yourself. You don't think vampires always looked human, do you?" he asked. Gesturing at the car, he offered his arm. "Ready?"

Taking it, she nodded. "Yeah," she said, smirking.

"But Integra told me to drive."

* * *

"Well, this is a welcome surprise. I didn't think you two would be the ones sent to meet us!" 

Rayne smirked and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear as she accepted the hug from Hunter. "How've you been, slacker?" she asked.

James shrugged. "The usual. And I see you drug Milleara along with you. How are you, Rose?"

The brunette smiled chastely. "Fine, Bane. And I see you brought your wife along."

Seras gave a meek smile. "I want to apologize for my behavior the last time you saw me. It was rather rude of me."

The woman waved it off. "Forgotten."

As they sat down, Seras looked at each of the other two ladies. "So how do you know this reprobate?" she asked, giving her husband a good shove.

"Misfortunes of working for a supernatural hunting agency," said Rayne. "But he is usually good for a fight and the aftermath. Too bad he was such a stick in the mud at times," she finished, giving her fellow Dhampir a hard look with her green eyes.

"Not my fault that your idea of fun was a bit past my pain tolerance," he said, toying with one of the knives on the table. "Still doing the slice and dice act?" he asked.

The red head patted what looked like a pool cue case. "Carries more than just my push stick," she said, giving a grin that reminded Seras of some of the ones that her former master had flashed in the years she had known him.

"So, Rose," Seras said. "That's an interesting nickname. How did you come by it?"

"Not really a nickname. In the natural language of my people, Milleara D'roena means 'A Desert Rose Aflame.' So it's more like a shortening of my name."

"Desert roses are rather pretty, it really fits."

"Not the flower, Police Girl," James said. "The action. She's one of the Firedrakes, a firebreather."

"I see she doesn't know anything about dragons," Rayne said, a teasing tone to her voice. "What have you been doing for the eight years you two have been married?"

"I see that Intel hasn't been lazy," muttered James. "It takes a bit of time to educate someone completely and we haven't exactly had a lot of downtime with the FREAKS. Now, if we may get to business," he said, raising an eyebrow.

Milleara pulled a folder from a briefcase, opening it to show a picture of a man with a shock of white running through his brown hair and mismatched eyes.

"This is Ezekiel Kane, whom you already know, James," she said, quietly but not whispering. Whispers drew attention.

"He was caught on security tapes in the attack on the one lab. We believe that he went in and kidnapped one Doctor Robert Thompson, a leading bio-geneticist. For what reason, we can only speculate, but we believe that he is behind the emergent virus that has been targeting vampires. No real known motive, and no conclusive evidence, either."

"Just as he would leave," James said. "He was always a very thorough person."

"However, he dropped out of sight, the tails we had on him were found dead, torn apart like rag dolls." She looked at him with hard eyes. "We think that there is a serious leak in the agency. We have orders to take you to see the Boss."

That caused James to stare. "The Boss? Why? I was always contacted through blind dumps."

"He's rather impressed with your track record, and with the possibility of a leak, he thought it best to talk to you directly about your request for help." Milleara looked at Rayne. "We've been ordered to escort you, your wife, and whomever you may choose to meet with him when he arrives in town tomorrow."

"The head of the Corporation is coming to London," James said. "I've never heard of such a thing."

"These are strange times, and with the likelihood of a leak, drastic measures are needed."

Rayne leaned forward. "Things are starting to look like they did back when the Corporation was the Brimstone Society. Back then there wasn't a boss, but a network of agents and assassins. With the FREAK problem getting out of hand, we've had to revert back to those days."

James nodded. "What do we do until he arrives?"

Rayne smiled. "Well, I'm a bit peckish, as you English say."

"And puckish," he said, narrowing his eyes.

"Tomato, tomato," she said. "The point is, how about going and getting something to eat that's more along our tastes? I know that she'll need blood more frequently now that she's expecting," she finished, tossing her head at Seras. "Preferably fresh blood."

James looked at his wife. "Feel like doing some hunting?"

"I'm still driving," she said as they all rose.

James sighed harshly.

"So," Rayne said. "Still hard on vehicles is he?"

"He's always been like this?"

"Remind me to tell you about an incident with a subway train when we get a free moment or two."

James stopped at the door and leaned against it.

"Who did I piss off to have this kind of treatment?"

* * *

Kane looked at the photos that the minister spread out on the table. 

"So," he said. "It looks as though my old friend James is on my trail. No matter. He'll be no trouble," he broke off as he felt an impact against his chest and staggered back, looking at the bleeding gash and tattered shirt. A flash of silver caught his eye and he tried to dodge the blow but the metal of the priest's weapon cut into his flesh again.

The priest coiled the whip back up, tucking it away. "You would do well not to underestimate the philosopher. He was one of the top agents for the Corporation and Hellsing. And like me, he knows the true way of death for your kind."

Turning, the priest offered a last bit of advice.

"Perfect the virus. Then neither of us will have to worry about him again."

* * *

_Piano intro_

Cut off the light, take a look  
There's nothing beyond but pain  
Suffer in the deepest void  
The flame of hope is gone  
What have I done?  
Denied the Father and the Son  
For a moment it seemed  
There's space beyond the spheres

Aflame the night  
So clear and bright  
Unstable light  
You've been sacrificed in fear  
Now there's one thing for sure  
I'm not afraid anymore!

Day after day we've been fixed in this bowl for so long  
For ages we're captured in shells and crystallized walls

Predestined or punished by Man or God?

I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
Take it away from me

And for a while astronomy's moved the Earth  
And we've turned around the Sun  
_Sanctum Officium_  
Has made me believe  
Has made me believe  
Has made me believe

"We know for sure you're lying  
Would you like to mess with Holy Scion?  
You know the fear of dying  
Would it be worth it to hear you crying"  
I've slaughtered truth and I've shattered my heart

Far too long I have played with hellfire  
And science has turned into madness  
But I should have taken it higher  
So I feel, so I feel  
Like Judas must have felt before  
That Wednesday night near by the tree

I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
Take it away from me

Day after day we will gratefully suffer for more  
Predestined's our part so we bleed in the name of God

Don't believe in their eternity  
We're still held in blindness  
And I've been turned into a liar  
If there is no Heaven there won't be release

I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
Take it away from me

**

* * *

**

**Preview**

_Seras: _In the next Chapter of Brotherhood, we...

_Anderson: _Wit jest a minute! How dare ye bring in that priest! He's a disgrace to Iscariot and Catholics ivirywhere!

_Seras: _What are you on about?

_Author: _Not now, Seras. That's Chapter Thirteen plot information.

_Seras: _You already have stuff for Thirteen ready?

_Author: _And beyond.

_Hunter: _You mind telling me what happens this time?

_Author: _Yes, I would mind.

_Hunter: _Drat.

**Chapter 11: Shuba Yatra**


	11. Shuba Yatra

"See anything you like?" she asked, green eyes flashing.

Hunter glanced around, hunkered down on the edge of the rooftop. The wind blew his rust colored hair about as he scanned the area in front of them.

"There," he said, pointing. "Two men and one woman, nondescript dress, walking north."

Seras looked, spying the figures he was pointing out. "Are you sure?" she asked even as her stomach roiled with sudden hunger.

"Reach out and get a sense of their emotions," he said, rising and pulling the collar of his duster a little higher. "In either case, I think I'll go and have a taste. Rayne?"

The redhead stood as well, handing the case she held to the woman standing to the side in a mock corset dress. "After you, sweetie." She turned to Seras. "Last chance, darlin'. You in or out?"

The vampress chewed on her bottom lip for a moment. Hunter looked at her.

_This won't be the first time you've drank fresh human blood, Seras. You set the rules, you can't back down now. _His brow furrowed as he raised an eyebrow.

_I know, _she thought. _But I keep wondering sometimes if we're any better than they are, _she thought as she subconsciously rubbed a hand across her abdomen.

_You'd prefer they mug the couple their tailing?_ he asked.

_No._

_Then it's settled. Ladies first._

Rayne looked between them. "You know I get uncomfortable when you do that," she said as they all stepped up to the edge.

"Like I enjoy it when you use time dilation or slip into a blood rage," he countered. "You got the ability to speed up your reactions, I got telepathy. No use crying about spoiled milk."

Seras shook her head. They had been in each other's company for less than two hours and they were already bickering affably like brother and sister. She looked at the trio they were going to hunt.

"You two going to bicker all day or are you going to catch up?" she asked just before transforming into a swarm of bats and wheeling off into the night sky.

Rayne looked on. "Now that was something I wish I could do," she said, turning. "Save on travel costs, eh James?"

Hunter had already leapt out into space, allowing his momentum to carry him towards the next rooftop, the tails of his jacket trailing out behind him.

"You know what I'd like?" muttered the redhead as she leaped after him. "If you would stop leaving me behind."

* * *

Integra stepped into the room, looking about in the darkness. She gave an impatient sigh as she forced a small wave of nausea down. 

"You were the one that called me, Alucard. I would appreciate it if you would not play games right now."

A low chuckle echoed in the room. "But this is what I called you for, my bountiful wine press," Alucard said, his voice echoing in the room, coming from nowhere and everywhere at once. "Games serve to keep the mind sharp and the spirit young."

Integra set her face in the hard lines that had earned her the moniker of 'The Ice Maiden' from some of the early members of the troop brigade. She cast her senses out into the room, a small sheen of sweat appearing on her forehead.

"We have no time to play, servant," she said, slipping into the role they had filled for the better part of three decades. "This crisis is important and must be treated as such."

She picked up a mental smirk that accompanied the barked 'huhmm' from the blackness.

Stepping into the darkened room, she flipped the switch on the wall. The lights stayed out.

"Of course," she muttered. She was about to take another step forward when a hand clapped itself about her mouth and an arm slipped about her waist. She stiffened for a moment, ready to lash out as her mind flashed back on the battle with Millennium nearly two decades earlier. Then the familiar feel of the hands cut through her mental haze.

"Alucard, we have spoken about these games," she said as she settled back into his grasp.

"And we have spoken about you working yourself to exhaustion, Integra," he purred in her ear. You have been looking more pale than usual as of late, and you seem to be fighting the flu. You should rest."

"Nonsense," she scoffed. "A small bug has never kept me from my duties. You know this."

He sighed. "I would think that you would listen to my advice after a few decades of learning that I have your interests at heart," he said.

She eyed him.

"Well," he said as he faded from view.

"If you were to fall grievously ill, who would I have to pester now that Walter is gone?"

Integra shook her head as she walked out, forcing down another wave of nausea.

"You could try flowers once in a while," she muttered as she shut the door.

* * *

"You hear something mate?" asked Ian. 

"Nah, just the wind rustling some bit of rubbish." Hiram said, slipping his arm a bit tighter about Miriam's waist. "Just think, in a few minutes we'll be a bit richer, having 'liberated' that bloke of 'is purse."

They walked a bit more. There was a slight scuffling sound and both Miriam and Ian turned to look.

"I know I heard something that time," the stout man said, fingering the hilt of the dagger beneath his jacket.

Miriam looked about, her eyes darting back and forth. "I heard it too," she said, her gaze traveling upwards. "Look," she said, pointing.

As they looked up, they saw a cloud of winged creatures flocking towards the alleyway they stood next to.

"Bats," mumbled Hiram. "Bloody flying rats."

Ian was about to say something when a pair of strong hands latched onto his shoulders and hurled him into the alley after the bats. He let out a yelp as he slammed into the brick wall and slumped, winded.

Hiram spun, knife flashing out when he got a good look at the person standing there and paled.

Standing there, a hand clamped under Miriam's jaw as he pressed up against her back was a man with rust hair and wearing a duster. He was less pale then when he had last seen him, but he had never forgotten that night when in his youth he had nearly mugged a monster.

"Oh bugger," he said, knife falling limp from his hands.

"Thought it was you, mate," said Hunter as he pulled a pistol from his jacket and tossed the barrel towards the alley entrance. "You want to follow your pal into the alley there?"

He started to turn to run when the sound of metal against metal stopped him. He turned and saw a tall redhead standing nearby with a wicked looking hook in her hand.

"Oh please, try to run," she purred. "I enjoy it when they play hard to get."

"Hmm," a voice said from behind him. "You've put on a bit of weight,"

He turned and saw the same strawberry blonde from that night years ago.

"Oh bugger," he said again.

"Told you that you were supper, mate," said Hunter. "Time to pay the piper."

The last thing he remembered was the slim hand of the blonde gripping his shoulder. Then the world turned black.

Rayne looked at the man slumped in Seras' arms.

"Friends of yours?" she asked as she hauled the other man onto his feet.

"You could say that," Hunter smirked as he picked up the woman. "They tried to mug us a few years ago."

Seras smiled. "They ran like schoolgirls."

"Right," said the redhead. "No draining, you said," she asked, an eyebrow arching.

"No draining," the blonde confirmed. "They may be the dregs of society, but they are still humans. They are punishable by man's law, not by us."

"Spoilsport," muttered Rayne.

"Hush," said Hunter as he tilted the woman's head to the side.

"You'll wake up your dinner."

His teeth were about to pierce her throat when he stiffened.

"What?" said Seras, eyes darting back and forth as she sensed his alarm.

He let the woman drop, leaping forward and rolling as a single bullet slammed into the pavement where he had been standing. Then the sound of a sniper rifle's bolt action being worked reached her ears and she shoved the bulk of the man to the side and darted behind the corner, Rayne diving in only moments before the next round shattered the window she had been standing in front of.

"What the Hell?" she spat, hauling a small Colt from beneath the long hem of her blouse and raking the red hair from her face.

Hunter fired Cain at the area the gunfire was coming from. "Small weapon, possibly a 30-06. Can't get a clear view of the gunman." He hauled his head back in as another round gouged part of the masonry from the wall behind him.

Seras squeezed off a few rounds from the Gravedigger, her braid twisted about her neck from her dash for cover. As she pulled back to keep from taking fire, she had a sudden odd feeling pass over her mind and she tossed her gaze to the shattered remains of the window that had proudly advertised for a wine store. The reflection in it caused her breath to catch in her throat.

Pip stared back from the shards of glass, a look of concern on his face.

She shut her eyes, rubbing them slightly. When she looked again, she saw only her own reflection, the braid cast about her shoulders like a scarf.

_That's all it was, _she thought. _My mind was playing tricks on me._ Then the cold feeling washed over her again and she saw in the reflection several armed men coming up the street towards them. She hopped around the corner and fired at them, shouting to her companions.

"Get into the store, now! Reinforcements!"

She had barely shouted the warning when a hand hooked under her arm and hauled her into the store and behind a counter.

"Haven't you ever heard about snipers? Don't worry about the bastards you can see till you know the one you can't won't drill you one," snapped Rayne as she released her grip. She fired a few rounds back towards the storefront and cursed as the slide locked back on her pistol.

"What I wouldn't give for my blades right about now," she muttered.

Hunter scrambled around the edge of the counter. "What do you think, love?" he said as he picked up a pair of scattered bottles. "The Merlot or the Pinot Blanc?"

Seras looked at him with an incredulous look as she fired over the top of the counter. "We are in the middle of a firefight here, James."

He looked at the two bottles. "You're right, nothing red." He set the Merlot down and heaved the other bottle out into the space between them and the incoming combatants.

He fired, his round shattering the bottle. Seras was about to ask him why he did such a useless act when a thin jet of flame flashed down from above and set the wine ablaze, causing the men to wheel about, bringing a bead on something above them. There was a rushing sound, and a large shadow washed over the area.

"What was that?" she asked.

"That would be Rose," said Rayne, pointing up.

Seras looked, seeing through a skylight a winged form silhouetted against the moon. Her mouth dropped as she realized what it was.

A small shape fell, growing distinctas it crashed through the glass of the skylight. Rayne dove for it, throwing open her case and withdrawing a pair of bracers that she snapped into place on her wrists as soon as she had them out. A pair of wicked looking blades were then fastened onto the bracers.

"Just like old times, eh James?" she said as she hopped over the counter and flicked her arms, the blades folding down so she could grip the handles.

"Like old times," he sighed as he hopped the counter too, laying down covering fire.

Seras watched as the redhead glided forward, seeming to dodge bullets as they flew towards her, the blades on her arms slashing through flesh and bone as easily as Walter's wires had.

The fight was short and most decidedly unfair between the blades of Rayne, Seras and James' gunfire, and the aerial attack by Milleara. As James searched the bodies, Rayne wiped the blood off of her blades.

"Well, that was more fun than I've had in a while," she said. She folded the blades back along her forearms and turned to Seras. "You look a little pale dear," she said.

Seras wasn't listening. She was staring at the window again. She could have sworn that for a second she had seen Pip's reflection again.

_What is going on here?

* * *

_

"Are you sure this is a wise idea?" Leo asked the man standing over the scrying bowl.

"You didn't object when I proposed it," the man said, lighting a cigarette as he waved a hand over the image, reverting it to the calm surface of water again.

The blonde man looked at him sternly as he plucked the cigarette from the man's lips. "I didn't object to you watching over her like a charge, Phillip. But this is different. Interfering with the affairs of mortals, or immortals, is serious business and shouldn't be taken lightly. It is our job as…"

"You don't know Vicky like I know her, Leo," the man said, cutting him off. "I know she'll be able to see it through, as will ze rest of zem. Besides, we're helping good, which is our business, is it not? Oh, and I've told you before," he turned, his blue eyes boring into Leo, the long wheat colored hair drifting across his face.

"Only my parents called me Phillip, _mon ami_. You and ze others, you need to learn zat."

* * *

_Piano intro_

Cut off the light, take a look  
There's nothing beyond but pain  
Suffer in the deepest void  
The flame of hope is gone  
What have I done?  
Denied the Father and the Son  
For a moment it seemed  
There's space beyond the spheres

Aflame the night  
So clear and bright  
Unstable light  
You've been sacrificed in fear  
Now there's one thing for sure  
I'm not afraid anymore!

Day after day we've been fixed in this bowl for so long  
For ages we're captured in shells and crystallized walls

Predestined or punished by Man or God?

I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
Take it away from me

And for a while astronomy's moved the Earth  
And we've turned around the Sun  
_Sanctum Officium_  
Has made me believe  
Has made me believe  
Has made me believe

"We know for sure you're lying  
Would you like to mess with Holy Scion?  
You know the fear of dying  
Would it be worth it to hear you crying"  
I've slaughtered truth and I've shattered my heart

Far too long I have played with hellfire  
And science has turned into madness  
But I should have taken it higher  
So I feel, so I feel  
Like Judas must have felt before  
That Wednesday night near by the tree

I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
Take it away from me

Day after day we will gratefully suffer for more  
Predestined's our part so we bleed in the name of God

Don't believe in their eternity  
We're still held in blindness  
And I've been turned into a liar  
If there is no Heaven there won't be release

I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
Take it away from me

**

* * *

**

**Preview**

_Author: _Ok, since I lack any sort of preview for this chapter, I've decided to go with the cast's idea of having a drinking song for the closer. So here to start us off is Father Anderson.

_Anderson: _I will go, I will go when the fighting was over to the land of McCleod that I left to be a soldier, I will go I will go.

_Hunter:_The King's son came along and he called us all together saying 'Brave Highland men, will ye fight for me father?' I will go I will go.

_Anderson and Hunter: _I will go, I will go when the fighting was over to the land of McCleod that I left to be a soldier, I will go I will go.

_Leo: _I've a buckle to me belt and a sword in my scabbard, a red coat on me back and a shilling in me pocket I will go I will go.

_A, H, and L: _I will go, I will go when the fighting was over to the land of McCleod that I left to be a soldier, I will go I will go.

_Pip: _When they loaded us aboard, the lasses were singing but tears came running down when they heard the bells a-ringing I will go, I will go.

_A, H, L, and P: _I will go, I will go when the fighting was over to the land of McCleod that I left to be a soldier, I will go I will go.

_Seras: _When we landed on the shore and saw the foreign heather we knew that some would fall and would remain there for ever, I will go I will go,

_All: _I will go, I will go when the fighting was over to the land of McCleod that I left to be a soldier, I will go I will go.

_Anderson: _When we came back to the glen, the winter it was turning, our goods lay in the snow, and our houses were burning. I will go, I will go. I will go, I will go when the fighting was over to the land of McCleod that I left to be a soldier, I will go I will go.

_All: _I will go, I will go when the fighting was over to the land of McCleod that I left to be a soldier, I will go I will go.

**Chapter 12: No Such Thing**


	12. No Such Thing

"Anything?" asked Seras.

"Nothing," Rose said, turning out pockets on one of the dead soldiers.

"Not a damn thing," Rayne bit out, throwing one of the jackets down.

"German passport and orders to observe Hellsing," James murmured.

The group clustered about as James held the passport up to the light, examining the pages for evidence of forgery. "Good paper, no obvious signs of tampering. I'd wait for a lab report, but I'd say it was genuine."

He looked at his companions, his face somber. "I think we've been made. We need to report back in and let Integra know about this."

They started to head towards the car that Rose had retrieved moments ago. James had started to climb in the driver's seat when Seras caught him by the ear.

"Short memory, dear?"

"Sweet Mary Mother of God, woman! You know I drive better than that!"

"I know," she said sweetly. "But I have my orders."

"Integra and I are going to have a word when we get back to base, just you wait."

Seras climbed in and started the engine, Rose climbing in the front, Rayne and James in the back. Rayne tucked the case she had stowed her blades in under the seat and leaned back, eyes closed.

As they headed for the manor, James scanned the documents for any clue that would provide more information, but so far he just knew that it was an order in German.

And as near as he could tell, that either meant that Millennium was gearing up again or whoever had hired Kane was based from the old group.

Or any number of other possibilies. When you tried to fathom the insane and obscure, there was no limit to the variables.

Seras cleared her throat. "James, look out the back window," she said, voice tight.

"Why?" he asked, twisting in his seat.

"I think that car is..." she cut off as a dark sedan raced up and a figure leaned out the window with a small rifle.

James cursed as he hauled his pistol out and started to roll down the window.

"Just shoot the damn window out!" Rayne shouted as a round pinged off the street to the side of the car.

"Hey, I want to try to bring this one back in one piece!" he shouted back.

Rayne punched the glass of the rear window, shattering it.

"Now it's broken, so shoot!" She spun and started to fire off rounds from a pistol lifted from one of the dead soldiers.

James lifted his eyes to the sky for a moment before joining in on the shooting.

Seras glanced in the rearview mirror. "Why is it everytime I go somewhere with you I wind up in a high speed chase?"

"Hey, our honeymoon turned out ok, didn't it?"

Seras threw the wheel hard to the left, trying to loose the pursuit. "Exception, not the rule dear."

James hit the mag release, letting the spent clip fall from Cain's grip as he pulled a new one from his pocket. "Hey, you could have stayed at home this time. You have a valid reason."

She spun into another turn, slamming her husband against the wall of the car. "Do NOT bring our child into this right now," she said coldly.

Rose spoke up. "If we could put this maritial spat on hold for a moment, perhaps we could loose the people in the car behind us?"

He lined up his next shot, emptying the entire clip into the fender of the pursuing car, shearing a section of the armoured panel off. As he pulled a third clip from his jacket, Rayne shot the tire out, sending the car into a skid that caused it to roll across the street and wrap around a lampost.

Rose sighed. "I take it you have a high budget for community repairs?"

Seras chuckled. "Actually, it's included in part of the taxes on our pay stubs."

James swiveled around and sat down, releasing the safety on Cain and setting it in his lap. :"Just once, I want to have a night go right. No ambushes, no stuffed shirt officers who don't know what they're doing, no well armed Catholics coming after us,"

Seras glanced back. "At least Anderson has been scarce since he took over Iscariot's internal security."

"True, but that doesn't mean Yumiko has been idle. Since Heinkel's death she's never in one place, and Yumie is worse than ever."

Rayne looked at the Dhampir. "You haven't lost your touch for making great friends," she quipped.

"Oh hush," he grumped. He glanced back and saw another car pulling up fast.

"Not again," groaned Rayne.

James said nothing, shrugging out of his jacket and taking the shoulder harness for his pistols off. "You just stay on the road. Get Seras back to the manor and tell Integra what's going on."

Rayne looked over at him. "You're not going to, are you?"

Hunter scrambled out the back window, pistol in hand, and leapt back to the following car, landing on the hood and booting the man who leaned out the passenger window in the temple and hauling him out of the window before sliding in through it.

"You had to ask?" Seras said as she threw the car down a narrow side street, watching the car shoot by.

"You aren't going to leave him, are you?" the redhead asked.

"Are you kidding? You know what'll happen to him on his own." She slammed the car into reverse and pulled back out onto the street, now following the pursuers.

_He needs a leash, I swear, _she thought to herself as she shifted through the gears.

* * *

James settled into the seat and held Cain to the temple of the man driving, who didn't even blink.. 

"Answers, if you don't mind," he said, clicking his finger against the triggerguard.

The driver held up a CD, extending it to the Dhampir.

"What?"

"On this disc, you'll find the answers. Deliver it to Alucard. On it are answers and clues he will understand" He glanced into his mirrors. "Your companions are behind us. Shall I let you off at the corner before I go pick up my partner?"

"If you had information for Hellsing, why follow and attack us? Why not just go to Hellsing Headquarters and deliver it?"

"My employer wishes to stay in the shadows. It's better for his business not to be seen associating with your group. And if you had paid attention, you'd have noticed we aren't armed and are considerably better dressed than the riff-raff you've dealt with thus far." He brushed a hand against the shoulder of his suit jacket, a crisp cut of high end cloth as he pulled to a stop. "Safe travels, Dhampir."

Climbing out, James regarded the disc in his hand. Unmarked, the kind you'd get from a department store.

Seras pulled up, jumping out. "Are you ok?"

He looked at her. "Mostly, I think."

She frowned. "What's wrong?"

He handed her the disc, climbing into the car. "I'm getting a headache from all these wheels within wheels. We need to get back, and fast.

"But first we need to make a small detour," he said with a grin. "I need to pick up some things."

* * *

Seras looked around in awe at the vast collection of items in the small warehouse. Some of these things looked as though they had come from a fairy tale, something from her childhood. She brushed her hand over the hilt of a simple but elegantly styled rapier, it's oak leaf design looking as though it had been polished recently, though she had a feeling he hadn't touched it in more than a century. There were several other swords on racks against a wall, including a complete set of Japanese Samuari blades, a Chinese double scimitar, two pairs of Sai daggers, a large battle axe with some good pits and nicks in the blade and well worn handle, and a few English broadswords, one with Celtic script across the blade. Leaning against the racks was an unstrung bow with an oak leaf pattern simlar to that of the rapier and a pair of silver swords. 

Rayne looked through a rack of wine bottles, muttering to herself. "Merlot, Merlot, Merlot, and what have we here? More Merlot. Don't you have any other vintages?"

Jame's voice carried through the space from where he was engrossed in digging through boxes. "Not on that rack, no. Somewhere in here is a rack with some 1795 Chateau Filhout Cru Class Sauternes and a few 1815 Chablis Grand Cru Valmur, I think of the Dom Moreau Magnum blend."

Rayne shook her head. "All those centuries and he can't invest in a few bottles of Chateau Brion."

Rose ran her fingers through the trailing edges of a shirt of chain mail, making a sound like coins being dumped into a pocket. "I remember what a bother these things were when they first came out. So hard to pick out of your teeth."

Seras looked at her. "You ate knights?" she asked, shocked.

The brunette shrugged. "From time to time, if they were foolish enough to try and kill me for my scales. Those that thought I was an evil menace I educated and sent them back as healers."

Rayne snickered. "I remember the one guy in Tapei that nearly wet himself when you transformed. I wish I could have taken a picture of his face." She took on a mocking tone and lowered her voice. "Two lovely women such as you should not be out late on your own. Some cutthroat could accost you and...oh great god Tiamat...sorry to bother you." She broke down laughing.

Seras, having set down a box containing various currencies from several countries and times, opened a cardboard box and leafed through the contents, including several photographs of her husband standing next to rather feminine looking Alucard and a very young Walter. In another he was standing with several others people in front of an old wooden ship, arms around each other's shoulders. Another showed him dressed in Victorian era, chewing on the end of a clay pipe as he lounged in a chair. In one of the few colour ones he was holding a young blonde man in a headlock and ruffling his wavy hair. Seras smiled as she recalled a similar photo of her old D-11 group.

"Found the picture of me and Peter, I see," the soft voice came.

She turned and looked at the smirking man. "Peter?" she asked.

"Peter Fargason."

She looked at the picture again. "That's Commander Fargason?" she asked.

"True to life, Seras. He had hair once." He set the box he was carrying down, gesturing to the entire room. "Here it is, the testament to my life. In here is anything that had anything important to do with my life." He wandered over to a coat rack with several millitary uniforms on it, brushing his hands over the ribbons and insignia. "Memories, tales, bits that make up who I am."

Rayne cleared her throat. "Nice to know, but why are we here exactly?"

James pointed a toe at the case he had dug out. " I needed some gear that I haven't carried since I returned to Hellsing. Just a few little toys."

Seras sighed. "Your toys tend to explode, dear," she said. "Tell me it's a model train set."

"Ok," the Dhampir said. "It's a model train set."

* * *

"You lied to me," an irked vampire said later. 

"Not really," James said, cleaning the barrel of a Glock 19 pistol. Three clips of 9mm rounds sat to the side, small layers of dust coating the ceramic magazines. "I just did what my lovely wife told me to do. I told you what you wanted to hear."

Her fist connected with his shoulder. "Smartass," she said.

"Hey, you said 'I do,' if you recall," he quipped. "Second thoughts?"

She shook her head. "Nope. Just wondering what I got myself into, that's all."

Reassembling the pistol and setting it down, he then pulled a battered bit of cloth out of the box. It was a dark grey beret with a Phoenix on the front rising from the ashes, clutching a group of arrows in it's talons. He brushed the hat and sat it on the table before digging out an old uniform shirt with the same insignia on it.

Rayne picked up the beret. "I didn't know you still had this old thing," she said, tracing the badge with her finger.

"I keep anything that might be of value later," James said, pushing the box to the side and rolling his neck around. He looked at the dragon sitting on a bench in the corner of the room. "So when do we meet with the Boss?" he asked.

Rose yawned. "He'll contact us when he arrives tomorrow with the meeting time and location. That's all the info we have."

Seras nudged a FN P-90 to the side and leaned on the tabletop. "So who all is invited to this meeting?"

Rose shrugged. "He didn't say anyone in particular. James and us for sure, though you and anyone else could come along too."

There was a rap at the door. On the other side was Integra, glasses perched on the end of her nose.

"It's time," she said, tossing her head towards the breifing room.

* * *

"You are sure of this?" the man asked as he scanned a file folder. 

The young corporal nodded. "Yes sir. Three teams sweeped the building and verifyied it's security. It's clean as a whistle, figurativly speaking of course."

The man handed back the folder and dismissed the soldier. He turned to a small form standing nearby and leaned forward.

"Are you sure she's ready for this, my friend?"

The catboy smiled, an ear twitching.

"I'm sure, sir. She's managed to reinsert herself into the remnants of the group and has all but assumed control. She should be ready to begin the operation."

The man leaned back, rubbing his chin. "And the contacts we sent out to find a Hellsing agent?"

Again an ear twitched with barely contained amusement. "Back safe, but with some minor injuries. Apparently there was some high speed gunplay just before they arrived."

The man smiled.

"I think it's time we got ready, Schrödinger. After all, things are going to be going fast now, and I would hate to throw a wrench into the works."

The catboy grinned, pointed teeth gleaming.

"You know how I hate to miss a party."

* * *

_Piano intro_

Cut off the light, take a look  
There's nothing beyond but pain  
Suffer in the deepest void  
The flame of hope is gone  
What have I done?  
Denied the Father and the Son  
For a moment it seemed  
There's space beyond the spheres

Aflame the night  
So clear and bright  
Unstable light  
You've been sacrificed in fear  
Now there's one thing for sure  
I'm not afraid anymore!

Day after day we've been fixed in this bowl for so long  
For ages we're captured in shells and crystallized walls

Predestined or punished by Man or God?

I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
Take it away from me

And for a while astronomy's moved the Earth  
And we've turned around the Sun  
_Sanctum Officium_  
Has made me believe  
Has made me believe  
Has made me believe

"We know for sure you're lying  
Would you like to mess with Holy Scion?  
You know the fear of dying  
Would it be worth it to hear you crying"  
I've slaughtered truth and I've shattered my heart

Far too long I have played with hellfire  
And science has turned into madness  
But I should have taken it higher  
So I feel, so I feel  
Like Judas must have felt before  
That Wednesday night near by the tree

I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence

Day after day we will gratefully suffer for more  
Predestined's our part so we bleed in the name of God

Don't believe in their eternity  
We're still held in blindness  
And I've been turned into a liar  
If there is no Heaven there won't be release

I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
Take it away from me

**Preview**

_Author: _Ok, after a long break, on with the story!

_Hunter: _About time you got back to work, slacker.

_Author: _Hey!

_Hunter: _What? It's the truth.

_Seras: _I'm not sure it's a good idea to piss off the author, James.

_Hunter: _Oh, what's he going to do, write me out of the story?

_Seras: _Shhhh! Don't give him ideas!

_Author: _Actually, there is character death coming up soon.

_Hunter: _Son of a - - - - -

_Author: _It's not you, ninny.

**Chapter 13: One Step Closer**

**

* * *

**

A/N: and as an added bonus, the ending theme: michaeldykes. tripod . com/ sitebuildercontent /sitebuilderfiles/ ageoffalseinnocence.mp3


	13. One Step Closer

The screen lit up with a warm glow, showing a jumble of pixelated images and random blobs of colour. Alucard frowned and stared at the screen.

"And I'm supposed to be able to sort this out?" the vampire asked, an eyebrow quirking up.

"That's what the man said, old man." James ran a hand through his hair. "He said that you would be able to unlock it."

The vampire ejected the disc and scanned it. "I don't see anything that even gives me a clue as to how to decode this thing. At least when you sent your dossier out to us when you got reassigned it was sealed with the same sigils that bind my will to Integra's. This is just a blank data CD."

The Dhampir shrugged. "You got me. We can run it through Decrypt after we get back."

Integra cleared her throat. "Which brings us to the point of this meeting. Tomorrow, the head of the Corporation will be arriving in London to hold a conference with James and any other members who choose to go along with him. We need to decide who is going."

Seras leaned forward. "I'm going. Someone's got to keep an eye on him," she said, jerking a thumb at her husband.

He frowned. "About that," he started.

"I am too," said Alucard. "I think it would be best if we kept our power consolodated."

"Good idea," Integra said, posting her head on her hands. "I'll stay here and continue to work on the information that we've recovered about the virus. I've been feeling a bit run down lately, so it's probably better to take it easy for a day or two."

Alucard looked at her. "The great Miss Hellsing admitting that she should take it easy? The flames of Perdition are probably icing over as we speak."

"Enough nonsense, Alucard," she snapped.

"He's got a point, Chief:" Seras said. "You don't normally take a sick day. So whatever it is that you've got must really be eating at you."

The blonde sighed and nodded. "I don't recall ever being this weak before. But it's probably no more than a bad case of the flu, nothing more."

James frowned and cocked his head to the side. "Are you sure?"

Everyone turned to him. "What do you mean?" asked his boss.

"Well, it's just that we've just spent the last week investigating this virus that just happens to be _designed _to kill our kind. How do we know that you didn't get contaminated with the sample?"

"I never came into contact with the sample outside of the reports and test results. Besides, I already considered that and the doctor found no trace of it in my bloodstream. She said that my electrolytes were running low and suggested that I start getting more iron in my diet, but nothing outside of that." She looked at him and softened her look with an still rare smile. "But I appreciate your concern, James."

The red haired man shrugged. "Just checking options."

Rayne stepped into the room and cleared her throat. "Have you guys made the choice yet?" she asked.

James nodded and the entire group stood up. "Got the info on the meeting point yet?"

The other Dhampir nodded. "Rose is checking out the route now."

Integra suppressed a cough, one that was still caught by Alucard.

_You aren't being entirely truthful, Master._

She frowned. _And you know better than to question my word._

He didn't look away.

Sighing, she relented. _It isn't as bad as you make it out to be, but there is no trace of the virus in my blood. I assure you of that._

With a look of skepticism, he let the matter drop.

* * *

Integra sat with on the cold exam table, the chill of the room making her skin prickle into gooseflesh. The dotor came in, still skimming the reports on her clipboard. She sat across from the leader of Hellsing and placed her glasses on the top of her head.

"Just like last time, no trace of those enzymes that mark the virus. There is still an unusually low level of iron and sodium in your blood chemistry, as well as another hormone that I've never seen before. We've sent it off to be analysed."

Integra frowned. "Is it serious?"

The doctor shook her head, black hair flowing like a tail. "Not at all. It could just be something natural in Dhampir and Vampire blood, but since we've had such little chance to study them, we have no information. I suspect that the low levels of electrolytic chemicals and your usual habit of overworking yourself have just run you down. Take a day or two easy and make sure to drink plenty of fluids." She reached into her lab coat pocket and pulled out a small bottle. "These multivitamins should correct the imbalance in your blood chemisty."

Integra took the bottle and pocketed it, hopping off the table. "You'll inform me the moment anything comes to light?"

The doctor nodded. "As soon as it reaches my desk, it's yours."

* * *

James shrugged into the harness, making sure that it let the small rifle hang where the drape of his jacket would cover it's presence. He also secreted the Glock pistol into the shoulder holster that once housed his Colt, now sealed in a display case on his dresser. He wore combat togs, the bulky pockets holding spare clips for the pistols and a flashbang grenade.

Seras looked at her husband as she pulled on her jeans and tucked in her blouse. She had left her hair unbraided today, letting it fall in strawberry-blonde cascades down her back.

"Don't you think you're going a little overboard?" she asked him as she cinched her belt.

"Rule number five of survival, Seras," he said, grabbing his beret from the table. "Never go unprepared to something when you've been attacked before. I don't wantto risk anyone's life."

He went over and wrapped her into his arms. "If something happened to you, I don't know what'd I do."

She smirked and sank into the hug. "You'd probably go about killing memebers of the Spanish Inquisition," she said, giving him a playful wink.

"You would remind me of that," he said, giving her a poke just below the ticklish spot on her side. "But you have a good point."

The vampress stood up on her tiptoes and gave him a kiss on the nose. "It's sweet, but nothing is going to happen to me. I'm going to be extra careful for the next nine months, and you know that."

The Dhampir shrugged. "What can you do? I worry about you, nothing can change that."

She swatted him on the arm. "Come on, we're going to be late."

They met Rayne and Rose in the motorpool, the two of them also sporting items with Corporation markings, showing the Phoenix gripping the arrows. Rayne's was an older version, still showing the doubled ring and spire of the Brimstone Society.

"You two ready?" he asked as he came up to the car.

Ranye nodded and popped open the door. They climbed in and settled into the back seat. Across from them sat Rose.

"Where is Alucard?" she asked, an eyebrow perking up.

"Where I always am," came the saccharine voice as he melded into view, lounging in the seat next to her. "Where least expected."

"Showoff," muttered Seras, a wry grin sliding across her face.

"You know how I like to make an entrance, Police Girl. The more showy the better."

James perked up an eyebrow. "You do know that once we enter that building, our powers will be dampened?"

"Makes it more fun that way."

"You constantly surprise me," the Dhampir shook his head.

The car rolled out onto the starlit street.

* * *

Soldiers flanked him as he walked up the flight of stairs to the helicopter. He climbed in, long jacket flapping from the turbulence from the blades. He turned to his companion, final order in mind.

"I'll see you at the site. I know you'll get there long before me, so I leave it to you to make a quick inspection of the landing site. We won't have much time to act once the trap is tripped."

The tiny form of the Catboy gave a half hearted salute, the most respect he showed anyone. "Will do, sir. Shall I invite anyone to the show?"

The man sat back, tying his long hair back with a pewter clasp. On it was large dragon, coiled about the shaft of a lance.

"No, this is our job. when it's over, we'll bring the others in."

Schrödinger grinned. "Then I guess I'll see you and the lady at the hotel then, eh?"

The man nodded, gripping the cane that had been sitting in the seat of the copter.

"Heaven allowing, yes."

* * *

They pulled up to a large hotel, a valet waiting to take the car to park it. James looked at the height of the building, remembering having broken into one like it during his time with the Corporation. Seras gawked at the amount of posh structure and furniture it had. The last time she was in a place like this, she had seen a massacre of humans, all because of the Millennium group.

Alucard chuckled. "We seem to get the best accomodations, don't we, Police Girl?"

"I'd rather not remember that night," she said, a coil of fear settling into her gut, making it twist. A vision flickered before her eyes, but it was too dim to make out. The cold feeling around her middle tightened, making her fight a dry heave.

James looked at her. "Morning sickness hitting already?"

Seras breathed deeply. "Must be. I'll be ok."

Rayne walked up to the desk, Rose close behind. "Was there any messages for a Mr. Delarobia?"

The clerk checked, then pulled a small envelope from a mailbox. Ranye gave him a pound coin and opened the envelope.

"Looks like it's on the fifth floor. Lifts are this way."

Seras paused, fighting another surge of nausea. This one actually caused her to gag. Rose laid a hand on her back, comforting her. "It's alright. The urges will pass in a few more moment. It's just your body trying to limit the amount of impurities in the nutrients you're digesting."

Seras wiped her mouth on the back of her hand, sure that something had leaked out. "Feels like someone doesn't like what I eat."

Rose grinned. "It feels that way each time. It gets easier with the second one."

James raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know you had kids,"

"Niether did I," said Rayne.

Rose shrugged. "They are both leading simple lives in China and Japan. They're simple bankers."

James laughed. "They got into the big money."

"I suppose they do take after their father. Malconre always was a bit of a money mastermind. Never let a copper goblet dissappear from his hoard."

The elevator doors slid open. Seras fought another urge to vomit and as she straightened up again, she stared at the glass mirror on the back of the car. For a moment, she thought she saw a white robed figure behind them, but when she turned, she saw nothing but a maid closing a door to a broom closet, a set of sheets in her hand.

_I need to get a grip, _she thought as the doors swished closed.

* * *

James reached under his jacket and felt for the P-90, making sure it was in easy reach. He felt the slight lurch as they entered an area shielded by Writs and other bonds of supernatural control.

Rayne led the way down the hall to a door that led to an inside room. She knocked several times in a complex pattern, which was returned with three sharp raps. The door swung open, revealing a lush suite. Three men stood there, two back across the room, holding pistols on the group. The third held a portable scanner, which he swung across each of them to spot any snoops that might have been planted on them.

The second man raised his wrist and spoke into the microphone secreted there. After listening for a brief moment, he nodded. "You are all clear to enter," he said, pulling open the door that led to the other half of the suite.

A desk dominated the room, a leather chair turned away from them and towards the fire. As the group entered, the chair turned to reveal a man in a high cost suit, cut in the latest style and finest cloth. His long brown hair was caught back in a tail and a large ring dominated his hand. But the most telling thing was at his waist.

A leather whip.

"James," Alucard said, a tone of both annoyance and surprise in his voice.

"Yeah?" the Dhampir returned, his voice just as surprised.

"Why didn't you tell me," snapped the No-Life King, turning to look at him. "That you were working for a Belmont?"

James smiled weakly.

"I didn't know."

"Come, gentlemen. Time enough for introductions later," the man said. "I am Richard Belmont, and I am honored to meet you. My family has told me great stories of you, Alucard, especially how you aided my ancestor Richter."

"It was an interesting time, sir." Alucard said, remembering the annoyance Richter had been.

The man came around and shook James' hand. "And you must be Bane. Your file speaks of your talents highly. It was a great loss to the outfit when you left, but then, we never really had you in the first place. You always were a freelance agent."

James nodded, his weak smile dissolving under his professional deadpan.

He took Seras' hand next. "And you must be his wife. You are lovely, my dear. He has quite a catch in you."

Seras blushed as another coil of fear ripped through her gullet.

Belmont sat down. "If we could get under way, I'm sure we can hammer out some sort of deal as to the trouble you are encountering."

* * *

The helicopter landed, and the man hopped out, coat and hair whipping around as the craft took off again. Across the pad was the short form of Schrödinger.

_A wonder how he does that, _thought the man.

Another form entered the roof, a tall slim woman.

"All is in place," he asked as he approached.

"You bet," the catboy said. "It couldn't be more ready if it had been built for us."

"Good," the man said, turning to the woman. "What about you, are you up to this? We could wait a few more days, let your strength build some more."

The woman shook her head, her long raven locks flowing across her dark suit.

"_Nein, _I am fine. I only need the word."

The curl of hair bobbed as Rip Van Winkle nodded.

"Operation Stopgap is ready to go."

* * *

_Piano intro_

Cut off the light, take a look  
There's nothing beyond but pain  
Suffer in the deepest void  
The flame of hope is gone  
What have I done?  
Denied the Father and the Son  
For a moment it seemed  
There's space beyond the spheres

Aflame the night  
So clear and bright  
Unstable light  
You've been sacrificed in fear  
Now there's one thing for sure  
I'm not afraid anymore!

Day after day we've been fixed in this bowl for so long  
For ages we're captured in shells and crystallized walls

Predestined or punished by Man or God?

I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
Take it away from me

And for a while astronomy's moved the Earth  
And we've turned around the Sun  
_Sanctum Officium_  
Has made me believe  
Has made me believe  
Has made me believe

"We know for sure you're lying  
Would you like to mess with Holy Scion?  
You know the fear of dying  
Would it be worth it to hear you crying"  
I've slaughtered truth and I've shattered my heart

Far too long I have played with hellfire  
And science has turned into madness  
But I should have taken it higher  
So I feel, so I feel  
Like Judas must have felt before  
That Wednesday night near by the tree

I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
Day after day we will gratefully suffer for more  
Predestined's our part so we bleed in the name of God

Don't believe in their eternity  
We're still held in blindness  
And I've been turned into a liar  
If there is no Heaven there won't be release

I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
Take it away from me

* * *

**Preview**

_Seras: _Whoa, morning sickness sucks.

_Piper Halliwell: _Believe me, sister, it doesn't get any better.

_Author: _You do know that you aren't paid in this preview, right Piper?

_Piper: _Yeah...I was here to talk to you about the whole thing with Cole and Phoebe...they're kind of wondering when...

_Author: _I'll get to the next phase of their story soon. I've got a few other things on my plate right now, like this commission for a Link x Zelda story..

_James: _When were you going to tell me I worked for a Belmont?

_Richard Belmont: _You sound dissappointed.

_Integra: _Calm down, Seras has a preview to do, people!

_Seras: _Next Chapter, Tourniquet.

_Alucard's Familiar: _Ooh, I like that song!

_Cromwell: _When did you get here?

**Chapter 14: Tourniquet**


	14. Tourniquet

The projector shut down, the fan whirring to a stop.

"Interesting," mumbled Belmont, skimming over the small packet of information about the virus. "Someone has managed to find a way to overcome the regeneration ability of vampires."

"The sample we were given shows that it is only effective on FREAK and Fledgling DNA codes," said James. "It's completely worthless against a released vampire or Dhampirs. We've tried to track down the source, but we don't have the same amount of contacts in the criminal underworld as the Corporation does."

"I'm not so sure I follow what you mean," the man said with a smirk.

Rayne smirked too. "You know that not all of our agents were always on the right side of the law, Chief. With the resources of our group, we could find who is behind this and stop them."

Belmont mused. "I agree. After all, the repercussions of this virus getting out into the open air and mutating into something that could affect humans is a concern, not to mention the innocent lives of those non-aggressive vampires."

Alucard shifted stiffly in his chair. He had never trusted the Belmont family, though he appreciated their honorable reasons. But something was wrong here. No Belmont had ever been friendly towards vampires in general and had only given a grudging respect for half-breeds.

It couldn't be that the few centuries had mellowed the family line out, could it?

Seras kept a hand on her belly the entire time, fighting off nausea and waves of cold fear. Her intuition was screaming at her, trying to tell her something was wrong. She could dimply sense Alucard's tenseness and James' wary gaze sweeping the room while he talked.

Belmont leaned forward. "I could send out some feelers, but it could take a few days to start hearing anything back. I suggest that we meet back here in, say eight days?"

James nodded, the warning bells in the back of his head starting to ring in addition to the residual fear and guarded feelings he was picking up from the link with Seras. He crossed his arms and leaned over the table, letting a hand fall near the grip of the Glock pistol.

"I think that would be advisable, but we're still going to go and poke around ourselves. You understand, of course?"

Belmont smiled. "Of course, you all have that choice seeing as you are all potentially in danger of infection. However, I highly suggest that you not for the next eight days, it could disrupt our agents digging around."

Fingertips brushed the ceramic grip of the pistol.

"What aren't you telling us?" James said.

Belmont looked amused at the question, while Rayne and Rose looked at the Dhampir in surprise.

"What do you mean?" asked the man, leaning back and placing his hands in his lap.

"He's right," Alucard snarled, placing his hands on the table. "You knew that we were going to ask you for help but you haven't sent any agents out as yet? That isn't the Belmont spirit I remember fighting with."

James slipped the safety strap off the pistol, raising his voice. "Also, why ask us to suspend our investigations? Your agents and contacts are mostly in America, not Europe. The chances of us disrupting your digging are nill."

Belmont smiled. "All good points, very valid points. However, we are in possession of information that you haven't found yet, nor are you privy to."

Seras bolted to her feet. "Not privy to? Whoever is making this could perfect it and _kill_ all of us! I understand Need to Know information, but right now those in danger _have _a need to know what they could be in danger of!" Her hands covered her middle protectively.

Belmont caught the motion. "You're expecting, aren't you?" he said quietly. "I understand."

Sitting back down, Seras fought to get her breathing and temper under control. "Then you understand my concern," she bit out.

"I do," the human said. "But you, as a commander of a military group, understand that the safety of my people is of paramount importance, and I have members in the field trying to break this open."

Alucard snarled. "Then why not share the information you have? The Belmonts I remember never withheld information from allies, nor did they turn a cold heart to them."

Richard Belmont stood and walked to the window, gazing out at the cityscape of London.

"Because, my friends," he said. "You won't be leaving this meeting."

With that, he spun, whip lashing out and catching the pistol that James had whipped out, tearing it from his grip. As Seras and Alucard pulled their pistols, Belmont kicked over a table and used it as a shield, the sound of the rounds striking metal screaming over the roar of the pistols and splintering wood.

Rayne dove for the Glock that James had dropped just as the doors burst open, members of the Corporation leaping in and beginning to fire automatic pistols at the group. A bullet clipped her arm and she hissed as blue flames flickered around the wound for a moment.

James, rolling under cover of the hallway that lead into the room and whipping the P-90 out yelled to Seras.

"Seras! They're armed with Holy Water rounds! Get Down!"

Alucard continued to fire at the table that Belmont had hidden behind, ignoring the soldiers that fired behind him. He slammed a new clip into the Jackal and started to march towards the table.

Rose picked up the table they had been sitting at and hurled it towards the guards, showing massive strength hidden behind her deceptively petite body. James fired a spray of rounds towards them, making them try to take cover in the closet. Two of them fell before cover was reached, but more appeared behind the doors, sniping shots down the hall.

Alucard reached the table and hurled it away, only to reveal that Belmont was gone. In his place was a tiny canister that was steadily releasing a gas. He snarled, seeing a tiny trap door cut into the floor and ripped it open only to feel the sharp pain of a blessed silver round rip through his shoulder with enough force to knock him backwards.

Rayne started to shoot through the shattered window. "Snipers with a big bore rifle, James!" she shouted.

James looked backwards and hauled out the flashbang and chucked it at the window. "Fire in the hole!" he called to his friends.

The grenade burst, smoke obscuring the windows to give them slight cover against the snipers across the street. Alucard looked at his wound, the blood continuing to flow. He began to laugh, overjoyed that they had weapons capable of dealing such damage to him. He dropped down into the trapdoor and found himself in the suite below them with no sign of where the bastard had run to. He couldn't even find a trace of his scent.

James sprayed another volley of rounds down the hall, flinging three more guards to their backs, large wounds in their chests. Rayne shucked the clip out of the Glock and tapped James on the shoulder. He tossed her the other two clips and looked at Seras.

_You ok? _he thought at her.

She nodded, feeling a wave of weakness wash over her. _Yeah. How could we have walked into such a trap?_

_We didn't know it was a trap, _thought James, hauling his head back as a shotgun blast took out part of the corner he was hiding behind. _How were we supposed to know that the leader of a national agency was going to be the one behind this?_

He sprayed another burst of fire around the corner, then looked over at Rose.

"Do you have enough room to shift?" he shouted.

She looked around, then shook her head. "No, the room isn't large enough. I think I can survive a single breath, though."

Seras looked at him. "She's not,"

Rayne and James were already ducking away from the hallway as Rose took a deep breath and stepped out in front of the corridor.

"Christ," snapped Seras as she dove away, the jet of flame melting a bit of her boot sole.

Rose collapsed to her knees. "I think I've cleared the way, for now," she rasped, face pale.

James helped her to her feet, Seras coming alongside to help.

Rayne snatched up a fallen rifle and took a few clips from a guard who had managed to escape from the flames. She ripped the emblem off her jacket and dropped it on the ground.

"Lets get the Hell out of here," she gritted.

"Alucard!" shouted James.

The red swathed vampire returned through the floor. "Seems I've missed all the fun," he said, the wound in his shoulder still bleeding.

The Dhampir looked at that. "Shouldn't that have healed over already?"

The vampire looked down, perplexed. "It's healing, it's just not going as quickly. Blessed Silver takes a bit, even on me."

"Rayne, lets cut a path out of here." James said as he checked the clip for the rifle.

* * *

Richard Belmont walked calmly down the stairwell and into the parking garage, seeing a trio of forms standing ahead of him, blocking his access to his car.

Unhitching the whip from his belt again, he strode slowly forward.

"Well, well, if it isn't the big bad slayer man himself," mocked a voice.

He froze, seeing the smallest form for what it was. He then recognized the other two forms as an overhead light flickered on for a moment.

"Well, it seems Intelligence hasn't been as much," he said, nodding slightly to the female vampire standing across from him.

Rip Van Winkle leveled her musket at him, the flintlock open and cocked. A gloved hand reached out and pushed down the weapon.

"I told you many years ago that you were on the wrong path, Richard. Do you understand the madness that you have embarked on?"

"Should I have, Teacher? Weren't you the one that always told me to follow my instincts?"

"This goes beyond following instincts, Richard. This is sheer madness. What if it mutates? Do you understand the repercussions of a flashback? If it alters and attacks humans? It could kill everything, you fool."

"Well then, I suppose it would work, wouldn't it?" he said as he snapped his whip forward towards the man standing in shadows.

A gloved hand snaked up and grabbed the whip end, wrapping it around his wrist tightly. Belmont tried to haul back and trip the man, but the grip was like iron.

"A shame then, you had such potential."

A red glow surrounded the hand holding the whip, and then the whip burst into flames. Belmont flung the whip away before the flames reached him and reached into his jacket, hauling out a small pouch and withdrawing a handful of powder from it.

"We'll meet again, Teacher," he said, flinging the dust into the air. "_Destinius," _he said, and vanished with a flash.

Schrödinger perked up an eyebrow. "That was unexpected," he said, sniffing the air for a moment.

"Yes, I hadn't thought him to have mastered teleportation spells yet." said the man, wiping soot from his gloves. "We have to prepare for the meeting, for undoubtedly it's time for the brothers to be reunited."

He turned, the family crest on the clasp holding his hair back glinting in the low light.

* * *

James fired the last round from the rifle and let it fall to hang from it's harness again, hauling out Cain and firing a 15mm round through the helmet of an approaching Corporation member. Rose was walking again, with a bit of help now and again from Seras.

Alucard lashed out with his hand, hurling a man back and through a wall. He sniffed the air.

"Do you smell that, Thanatos?"

James nodded. "Werewolf," he said softly.

Seras looked at them. "You aren't serious," she said.

They both looked at her as though she had said the King was daft.

"Right, right," she muttered and checked the number of rounds left in her current clip.

As though fighting Hans Günsche back in South America hadn't been enough.

* * *

The buzzer rang on Integra's desk and she started awake again. She stabbed the button, wiping a bit of sleep from her eyes.

"Yes?"

"Sir Integra, it's Doctor Markus. She says she has urgent news for you."

She felt her insides freeze. "Send her in," she said.

The doctor entered, her raven hair in disarray. "I told you that as soon as I had something I'd get it to you," she said without preamble.

"Go on," Integra said.

As the doctor laid out the information, Integra felt her mind wash blank.

_How? _was the only thought she could muster.

* * *

James dove forward into a shoulder roll as the clawed hand swiped over him. He heard the sharp crack of the Jackal behind him and saw the werewolf stumble back. He came up quickly and slammed the butt of his pistol into the back of the beast's skull, sending it down. He put his pistol on the back of it's head and fired a round, ensuring that it wouldn't get up again.

Seras fought another surge of nausea. They had started to come more frequently, and stronger too.

Rayne snapped the neck of another soldier and took his equipment. "You ever think we'd be fighting our own people?" she asked.

James shook his head, but it was Rose who spoke.

"They are under orders and indoctrination. The Corporation has been getting more and more human-only in recent years. We should have seen it coming."

Alucard looked around. "Well," he said. "The cleaning staff will earn their pay tomorrow."

They continued on, reaching the ground floor and seeing the last line of soldiers lined up.

"Just like the Hotel Rio," muttered Seras as she saw the frightened faces of the soldiers as James, Alucard, and Rayne strode forward.

"They're too used to fighting FREAKS," she said quietly.

Rose nodded.

"Now they're facing true monsters." rasped the dragon, her throat still sore from releasing the torrent of fire.

"They haven't got a prayer," Seras said bitterly. Her mind still screamed that something wasn't right.

_What? _she screamed silently back. _What isn't right? _

_You'll have to figure that out on your own, Vicky._

She started. _Pip?_

There was no answer.

"Are you ok?" Rose asked.

Seras stared off into space, trying to make sense of what she was picking up.

"I'm not sure," she said.

* * *

Ezekiel Kane stood up as the form of his employer flashed into being.

"Father Rick, to what do I owe the honor of this visit?" he asked, bowing slightly.

His answer was a backhand to the face. "Shut up," hissed Belmont. "How far along is the virus?"

Wiping blood from the corner of his mouth, Kane looked at his employer. "The last tests were performed before you had even arrived for the meeting. The canister you had was the perfected version."

Belmont smiled.

"Perfect."

* * *

They stood amidst a pile of carnage, bodies laying in their own blood, the moans of the slowly dying fading into the gurgle of blood filled lungs.

James looked around. "That's the last of them. Lets go, people."

Rayne rushed out and started to check the car, Alucard standing watch. Seras rushed forward and he took her aside.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said. "Just having a bit of trouble with the nausea."

He nodded. "Go, I'll bring up the rear."

He went and helped Rose to her feet. "On your feet, Cinderella. It's almost midnight."

She smiled, accepting his help. "Don't tell me the car was once a pumpkin."

"Nope," he said. "It's past my bedtime and I don't want to get grounded again."

As they started forward, Rose fell behind slightly. He kept an eye out for the snipers up on top of the buildings, but couldn't see through the fog that had started to gather.

"Are we clean?" he asked Rayne as she crawled out from under the car.

"I don't see any devices on the chasis or undercarriage, but I still need to check the engine. Half a minute." She threw the hood open and started poking around inside the mechanical workings of the motor.

A sharp crack split the night, and James searched the sky for the shooter as did Seras and Alucard.

"Anything?" he asked.

"James," came the quiet voice.

He turned, and saw Rose drop to her knees, holding her abdomen.

"Rose!" he shouted, rushing to her.

She looked at him with eyes that were slowly shading into the violet that normally showed when she was in her true form, but they weren't focusing.

"Hold on, Milleara," he said, examining the wound. It was bleeding freely, the bodice of her dress was already soaked. He touched a finger to the wound and looked at the blood.

It was almost black. The bullet was in her liver. He shut his eyes.

"It's pretty bad, isn't it?"

He nodded his head, knowing better than to lie to her.

"Take care of that young lady, will you? You have a fine companion in her."

"Milleara, hang on, we might be able to get you to a medic in time."

She smiled softly. "James, the twilight is upon me. I've lived a full three thousand years. Just make sure I get home," she said, her voice drifting off.

He reached out and shut her eyes, holding them shut until the muscles relaxed into the position.

"Rayne," he said, voice tight. "Get that damn car started now."

The red head looked over at him. "What," she started.

"NOW!" he barked, lifting the body of Milleara D'roena in his arms, ignoring the blood that started to soak his clothes.

Seeing her friend bleeding and motionless, Rayne took a moment to snap out of her stupor and jump into the car and start the engine. They all leapt in and Rayne slammed the car into gear and sped towards the manor.

James sat silent the whole time.

* * *

Integra pinched the bridge of her nose as James finished his report. He hadn't changed out of his bloodied clothes yet, hadn't cleaned his face or hands of the blood he had spilled and tried to stem.

"So it seems that Richard Belmont, latest of the family of Vampire hunters, is behind the virus. What could have caused this?" she asked.

"I don't know. All indications and reports show that he was just as dedicated to the Belmont code of honor as any of his ancestors. But who knows what happened once he took over the leadership of the Corporation? It could be something as simple as attrition to dementia from stress."

"And you believe that he hired this Kane to retrieve the components in an effort to redirect the attention from himself?"

"It's just conjecture at this time." he said.

Integra noticed that he hadn't looked at her the entire time he had been in her office. His eyes were fixed on a spot over her head.

"How is she?" she asked.

"Dead. Because I couldn't spot a sniper in time."

"Wrong," snapped Integra.

He looked at her, cold fury and pain in his eyes.

"She is dead because a lunatic wanted her dead, just as he wanted you dead. You did what you could."

"I know," he said. "That doesn't mean that it wasn't my fault. Or that I feel responsible for it."

She laid a hand on his shoulder. "Go get some rest. We'll figure out how to deal with this later."

He left, and Alucard phased into the room. "He has a lot of pain behind that face," Integra said as she turned to her servant.

"Indeed, but he has learned how to deal with it through the ages."

"I want your report, Alucard."

"I have little to add to his. The whole meeting was a setup from the start." He thought for a moment. "And Rip Van Winkle knew it, too."

"Hows that?"

"'Look to the West', she said when she gave me that sample. She knew, somehow."

"And she warned you, but why?"

"I don't know."

She shrugged, then pulled an envelope from her desk.

"This came for you in today's post." she said as she handed the envelope over.

Alucard took it and saw a seal stamped on the back, a Dragon hanging from a cross.

His jaw fell open. "It cannot be," he said.

"What?" Integra said, standing to look at the envelope. She saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"You don't see it?" he asked, pointing to the seal.

"See what?" she asked, seeing only a blank portion of paper.

"My family seal," he said, pulling the envelope open. There was no note inside, instead only a single word written on the inside in a precise hand.

_Mircea_.

"It's from my brother," Alucard said, the words feeling as though they came from anothers mouth.

"Your _brother?"_

Alucard ignored her and rushed to the conference room, where the computer and the data disc were still siting. He put the disc in the drive and typed his brothers' name into the prompt.

The screen organized itself into an image of a man sitting in a chair, hair pulled back and a cane resting on his lap.

"Hello, Vlad," the man said. "I suspect that it must be quite a shock for you to see me, but understand that I had good reasons."

He looked down. "I am contacting you know because of a great threat to our world and our kind. By now, you probably already know it is being led by Richard Belmont. The sample given to you by Rip Van Winkle was snuck out of one of his testing facilities by another person in my employ. You might know him quite well," he smirked. "I hear you blew his head off once.

"In any case, now that you've unlocked this disc, you'll find information on how to contact me enclosed. I'm sure you have questions, like how I survived being buried alive, but those are better explained in person. Until then, brother."

The screen faded to black, with a folder popping open to display several files.

Alucard and Integra stared at the screen, dumbstruck.

It wasn't every day your brother came back from the dead, after all.

* * *

_Piano intro_

Cut off the light, take a look  
There's nothing beyond but pain  
Suffer in the deepest void  
The flame of hope is gone  
What have I done?  
Denied the Father and the Son  
For a moment it seemed  
There's space beyond the spheres

Aflame the night  
So clear and bright  
Unstable light  
You've been sacrificed in fear  
Now there's one thing for sure  
I'm not afraid anymore!

Day after day we've been fixed in this bowl for so long  
For ages we're captured in shells and crystallized walls

Predestined or punished by Man or God?

I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
Take it away from me

And for a while astronomy's moved the Earth  
And we've turned around the Sun  
_Sanctum Officium_  
Has made me believe  
Has made me believe  
Has made me believe

"We know for sure you're lying  
Would you like to mess with Holy Scion?  
You know the fear of dying  
Would it be worth it to hear you crying"  
I've slaughtered truth and I've shattered my heart

Far too long I have played with hellfire  
And science has turned into madness  
But I should have taken it higher  
So I feel, so I feel  
Like Judas must have felt before  
That Wednesday night near by the tree

I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence

Day after day we will gratefully suffer for more  
Predestined's our part so we bleed in the name of God

Don't believe in their eternity  
We're still held in blindness  
And I've been turned into a liar  
If there is no Heaven there won't be release

I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
Take it away from me

* * *

**Preview**

_Seras: _Master, you had a _brother?_

_Alucard: _Actually, I had two. I thought them both dead a long time ago.

_Author: _Well, you know what they say about assuming, right?

_Alucard: _Don't even finish that sentance.

_James: _So my old boss is the ass responsible for this virus?

_Author:_ You could say that.

_Anderson: _Ah tole ye he was a disgrace!

_Yumie: _They never listen to you anyway, Alex.

_Seras: _Oh brother...

**Chapter 15:Catharsis of Suffering**


	15. Catharsis of Suffering

The air was thick with fog, an obscuring white mist that her eyes couldn't pierce. Try as she might, she couldn't see more than a few paces in front of her.

"Hello?" she called out, turning around in an attempt to catch some glimpse of something, anything.

Voices drifted in and out of the range of her hearing, words indistinct and buzzing. She reached down to grab at her pistol, but only encountered the soft feel of silk. She looked down and saw she was only in a long robe, its gold colour muted in the white screen. She felt the material against her skin and began to wonder what was going on.

"Is anybody there?" she yelled. "What is going on? Where am I?"

No voice answered her.

She caught the flicker of movement out of the corner of her eye and darted after the shape, catching it quickly and tackling the form, dressed in a robe much like hers. The figure tried to struggle free, but she held it down easily.

"Who are you," she demanded, a hint of anger creeping into her voice. "What's going on here?"

The figure stopped fighting, and reached up to push back the cowl of the robe, revealing a tousled head of strawberry blonde hair, cut short above blue eyes. The face was older, a bit more weathered, but she recognized it.

It was her own, if a bit different.

Seras Victoria jerked backwards, her long hair wrapping around her body. "Wha…?" she stammered.

The other Seras stood up and brushed herself off. "Visions of what could have been, and may yet be," she said, extending a hand to her younger version, who took it reluctantly.

"What do you mean?" the vampire asked.

"What you are seeing right now is a dream. You wonder from time to time what life would have been if you hadn't been in Cheddar that night, though you are happy with your life as it is now."

Seras nodded. Her alter ego continued.

"In the purest essence of the matter, I am your subconscious. However, I have only been invoked by the intervention of a third party." She waved a hand off to the distance, revealing a shrouded form, indistinct in the mist. It appeared to be wearing a robe as well, a long scarf drifting in the breeze. It stayed just far enough away where she could barely make out any features.

"He'll be the one to tell you what you need to know, Seras."

* * *

James rolled over, his light sleep interrupted by uneasy dreams. He heard Seras mumble in her sleep, then again, as though replying to what she said. He shook the sleep from his head and looked at her. Her voice changed, become her usual timbre as she asked 'Who is it?'. He frowned as she spoke again, her voice altering into an older, more rational sounding version. 

'Someone who still watches you,"

"Seras," he said, gently shaking her shoulder. "You're talking in your sleep again."

She didn't even shift as she continued this one sided conversation.

* * *

"Watches me?" she said, confused. "It's not James, the build is too slim." 

"No, but it is a friend none the less."

A third voice drifted in, indistinct yet somehow familiar. "She won't let this go till she sees for herself. A copper through and through and just as stubborn as I remember her."

Seras tried to place the voice. She knew the voice, she knew she did. The fog started to lift.

"Our time is limited, _cher, _so I'll be quick. You are facing a danger that threatens to destroy the world as it saves it."

She squinted, able to make out a few features now, like a long straw hanging from the lips of the figure and what looked like a bandage across his face. The robe turned out to be a pair of battered khaki pants and a long jacket over the shoulders.

"Ze virus that you have been investigating can and most likely will mutate to attack others, including dragons, witches, elves, and humans. We cannot allow that to happen, so we are granting you and your friends a special dispensation, a stopgap measure. We'll slow the progress, keep it from spreading too quickly, but even we cannot stop it completely, not while it is mutating and changing. You have to destroy ze source and ze one whose malice fuels it. Only then can our power eradicate it. But be careful, you can still contract it."

The mist cleared completely, and Seras got a glimpse at the figure for the first time, and her breathing hitched, catching in her throat. What she had thought a scarf was actually a long braid of hair. Her voice trembled.

"Pip?"

* * *

Alucard poked at the wound on his shoulder. It had healed over, but it had scabbed instead of healing completely. This had never happened before, not even with blessed silver. Even the blades of Anderson had healed within a few hours. He was beginning to become concerned. 

"Trouble sleeping?" came the soft voice.

He looked over at the table in his chamber, where Integra now leaned, a dressing gown over her shoulders.

"Something like that. Wondering about Mircea and Belmont and how all this fits together." He rolled his shoulder around in a circle, loosening the knotted muscle.

Integra came over and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close. "It'll become clear soon enough. For now, get some rest. I think it'll become a commodity all too rare in the coming days."

* * *

"That's right, Vicky," he said, his eyes shining. "I made it to Heaven, and no one as surprised as me." He grinned, the strand of straw rising as he did. "Matter of fact, Walter and most of ze Geese are here, though only a few were made Whitelighters." 

"Whitelighters?" she asked.

"Guardian angels, so to speak," the mercenary said. He waved towards her. "You've been busy ze last handful of years," he said, smiling warmly. "Married, a kid on ze way, happier than I've seen you in a long time. You've come a long way, bird."

Seras walked up to him, hesitant, sure that this was a dream now.

"Not a dream, Seras," said her other self. "This is the only way that we could inform you of the upcoming trouble without alerting Belmont. He has an eye on any supernatural communications going in and out of the Hellsing House."

Seras broke down and hugged Pip tightly, smiling through tears. "I missed you so much those years," she said, stepping back to look at him. The wounds and scars he had picked up in life were gone, including the return of his missing eye. "So this is what you looked like when you had both eyes," she said, grinning.

"More dashing, no?"

"More like a pervert, actually," she said, returning the old jibe. She smiled and looked at him. "I wish you and James could meet," she said. "Though I'm sure I'll get caught between as the target of jokes."

Pip laughed. "I'm sure before this is done we'll meet at least once. But as I said, time is limited. You must track Belmont down. He is hidden from our methods of scrying, so it's footwork for you guys." He looked up, then back at her. "Looks like time is up, Vicky. Tell the others that Walter and I said hi." He vanished in a burst of blue light.

Seras woke up to find James looking at her with an amused look.

"What?" she asked sleepily.

"You probably would get caught in between us, Draculina," he said, his voice barely hiding laughter. He fell over when the pillow she launched at him bounced off his face and he lay there as she attacked him, fingers trying to get to the spots she knew he was ticklish while trying to protect her own spots.

"You know where this normally winds up, Police Girl," he said as he pulled his face out from the pillow.

As she leaned in and kissed his chin, she grinned. "Why do you think I do it sometimes?" she asked as she pulled his shirt off.

"Vampire women," he mock pouted as he followed suit with her nightgown, sliding fingers along her smooth flesh.

"Dhampir men," she said, mocking his voice just before capturing his lips.

* * *

"Have you found it, Schrödinger?" asked Rip Van Winkle. 

"You know that I'm there right now, but I can't view anything. He must have put up some sort of blanket that prevents me from interacting with the location." The ears on the catboy's head flicked in annoyance. "Everywhere and nowhere, but can't see into one place."

"It seems that the student has come to know some rather interesting tricks," Mircea Dracula said as he pulled on his jacket and picked up his cane. "I know how difficult it is to block the young lad's intrusions, and am rather impressed." He turned to a radio operator. "Anything from England yet?"

"Not yet sir. Communiqué from team five, however. Two lost to the virus. The encampment is undergoing quarantine protocol."

Mircea frowned. Two more dead just as they reached safety. All because of a misguided student of his.

"I should have never taught him these spells," he said almost to himself.

"How could you have known, sir?" asked Rip, her suit making her blend in with the dark room, her long hair drifting in the wind created as she walked. She had long since shed the swastika pendant as the remaining members of Das Millennium had abandoned their fight and joined in with the Maáquë Brotherhood, under it's new leadership.

"I suppose you have a point. I'm not omniscient. However," he said, the frown returning. "I should have picked up on the change in the Corporation's outlook and behavior. Do you have the dossier on the other members of the Hellsing organization?"

Rip held out a folder to her employer. "I think you'll find this particular member interesting. He used to be a part of this group, until Kane ran it from the mercenary aspect into simple pirates."

Mircea perused the notes, an eyebrow rising. "A useful addition to the group. He should be our secondary contact in the event of anything going wrong with meeting with Vlad or he is unable to attend."

Schrödinger suddenly perked up. "He's up and about in the mansion, want me to pop in and deliver anything?"

Rip patted him on the head with an amused look. "Sure, and you can get your head blown off again, little one."

The catboy scowled. "I would like you not to mention that," he said, crossing his arms and sulking somewhat, increasing the childlike look he had. "And I'm not a kid, I'm almost a century old."

Mircea smirked. "Compared to us, you are a child, _wunderkind. _However, she should also remember that without you, she'd still be a part of my dear brother's soul slaves."

He put the folder down and crossed to the lift in the far side of the compound, his eyes going distant.

"The swirl is growing tighter. Something is about to happen and soon. We need to be ready."

* * *

"Seras!" Hunter called as she passed out, falling to the ground, vomiting blood. He cradled her in his arms and tried to get her to respond. Nothing flickered within her mind, and he could sense her body trying to protect itself from some threat. 

He tried to phase to the infirmary, but couldn't. He felt mild panic as tried again and failed. Picking her up, he rushed her to the ward. He saw Integra there with Alucard, who was extremely pale and fighting to stay upright.

Rayne helped him get Seras onto a table and then pulled him back as the doctors started to examine her.

"It's the virus, James. We're all infected," the redhead flashed an angry look at the floor. "I'm sorry."

James looked at his wife as the doctors tried to revive her.

"Save it."

They all looked at him, shocked at his voice. It was cold, hard.

His eyes didn't reflect a glint from the lights as the grey-blue irises faded from sight and his fangs grew to full length.

"I'm going after the son of a bitch, and I'm going to rip his throat out."

* * *

Integra caught up with him just as he left the ward. She grabbed his elbow as he walked up to the armory door. 

"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded as he started to key in his access code. "Seras needs you here by her side."

"Seras can take care of herself, besides, we've got a bit of an edge against this," he said, not elaborating. "You, Rayne, and I haven't shown any symptoms besides a lowered ability range, so we'll probably not be as badly affected by this thing. Gives us enough time to find him and an antidote."

"James, this is madness. You can't be sure how long it will take to find him, how long till the virus enters it's final stage, any of this. We need to…" she broke off as she found herself staring down the barrel of Cain, the pistol seeming to have appeared in the Dhampir's hand. The eyes on the other end of the weapon were cold and hard, no trace of the humour or soul that she had come to know in this man.

"Integra, that bastard has threatened you, me, my friends, and thousands of innocents, including my unborn child. I'll take any help you can give me, but I would like to ask that if you won't help, stay the Hell out of my way."

A voice spoke up from behind them. "I'm with you, James," Rayne said. "I owe it to Rose."

James opened the armory and stepped inside.

"Ok," Integra said resigned, looking around. "What do we do?"

Hunter grabbed the grip of the Harkonnen and snapped it open to check the breech.

"Saddle up," he said, closing the weapon and slinging it over his shoulder. "Lock and load."

"And pity Richard Belmont and Ezekiel Kane should I find them. They're mine."

* * *

_Piano intro_

_Cut off the light, take a look  
There's nothing beyond but pain  
Suffer in the deepest void  
The flame of hope is gone  
What have I done?  
Denied the Father and the Son  
For a moment it seemed  
There's space beyond the spheres_

_Aflame the night  
So clear and bright  
Unstable light  
You've been sacrificed in fear  
Now there's one thing for sure  
I'm not afraid anymore!_

_Day after day we've been fixed in this bowl for so long  
For ages we're captured in shells and crystallized walls_

_Predestined or punished by Man or God?_

_I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
Take it away from me_

_And for a while astronomy's moved the Earth  
And we've turned around the Sun  
Sanctum Officium  
Has made me believe  
Has made me believe  
Has made me believe_

_"We know for sure you're lying  
Would you like to mess with Holy Scion?  
You know the fear of dying  
Would it be worth it to hear you crying"  
I've slaughtered truth and I've shattered my heart_

_Far too long I have played with hellfire  
And science has turned into madness  
But I should have taken it higher  
So I feel, so I feel  
Like Judas must have felt before  
That Wednesday night near by the tree_

_I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
Take it away from me_

_Day after day we will gratefully suffer for more  
Predestined's our part so we bleed in the name of God_

_Don't believe in their eternity  
We're still held in blindness  
And I've been turned into a liar  
If there is no Heaven there won't be release_

_I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
Take it away from me

* * *

_

_**Preview**_

_Seras: _This part of the script makes no sense.

_Hunter: _I really don't think I'd do this…I mean, mostly sure…

_Integra: _I say _what?_

_Yumie: _I wear that? Sounds killer. Does wardrobe have that ready to test fit, anyone know?

_Mircea: _I'm not so sure that I'm ready for this duel. I mean, I haven't really wielded a sword in several lifetimes.

_Author: _Coffee break is over guys, we shoot the next scene in fifteen minutes.

_Anderson:(humming with his mp3 player) _There were roses, roses. And the tears of the people ran together.

_Author: _ALEX! Enough with the folk song. That's Chapter 17's preview.

_Kusanagi: _Hey, I hear you requested files from Section 9?

_Author: _Case files, yeah. The unclassified stuff. I'm about to get back with Aramaki about borrowing you guys for a bit.

_Seras: _Great, another cast for him to meddle with.

_Alucard: _I get to impale someone with a huge sword? Delicious.

_Author: _We're waiting for the prop shop to finish with it, Vlad. Meanwhile, I want you to practice with this herring.

_Hunter: _A herring? Not that old Monty Python joke.

_Integra: _You prefer him to make us sing 'Dough Ray Me' in five part harmony?

_Hunter: _Good point.

_Pip: _Next chapter, Rise, Inner Universe, where souls are torn and lives and turned upside down and dark times are revisited.

**Chapter 16: Rise, Inner Universe**


	16. Rise, Inner Universe

The man peered through the darkness, the rifle slung over his shoulder. 

"Man, I hate guard duty," he said as he fumbled for another candy in his pocket. All he'd gotten since he'd joined the Corporation was guard duty, no field time. He never heard the footstep behind him, nor the near silent ring of the metal blade being drawn. He did, however, feel the sharp pain as it slid into his ribs, and felt the blood rise into his throat as it was withdrawn. He tried to bring his rifle to bear, but the blade was into and out of his neck before he had moved an inch. He dropped to his knees, gurgling softly.

Hunter stepped over the body and lept over the fence, followed by Integra and Rayne. He glanced around, sliding the combat knife back into it's sheath at his shoulder. He pointed at the building within the circle of lights and held up his fist, looping a circle with an extended index finger before pointing at the ground at his feet. The other two nodded and began to move off to do a quick perimeter search.

He moved like a shadow along the fence, scanning for guards, extra security measures and the like.

* * *

_Three Hours Earlier_

James slid open the door to his storage unit, striding in and dropping the duffel he carried on the ground. The first thing he grabbed was the Katana and wakizashi from the rack they rested on. He continued on to the locked trunk at the end of the room.

Rayne stepped in and looked around. "So why are we here again?" she asked.

Integra lit a cigar and exhaled a cloud of smoke. "Becuase he has weapons here that we don't have at the mansion. And apparently, they are more approriate for exacting pain then those of the armory."

James opened the large trunk and hauled out an old pump action shotgun and an even older tommy gun. Setting them aside, he pulled a breech loading grenade launcher and a small satchel of claymore mines. He rooted around in the trunk and pulled out a large case marked 'ammunition' and locked the locker again.

Glancing back, he pointed to a small chest by Rayne's foot. "Open that and bring me the magazines and the Berretta pistol inside please."

They watched as he loaded 9mm rounds into the six clips for the Berretta, loaded ten for the Glock, and another five for the SigSauer that Rayne had taken from the Hellsing armory. He then cracked open the two drum magazines for the Thompson and loaded .45 ammo into them.

"Is all this really needed, James?" asked Integra.

Rayne looked at her. "You don't know him very well, do you?" she said. "I may be a bit blade happy in combat, but when you piss him off, very little stops him. You know his history and what happened after the Inquisition, so make the logical guess about what he would do if his wife is endangered."

Integra sobered up at the thought, and felt a momentary flash of relief that he was on her payroll.

Hunter placed the last two rounds into the clips for Cain and Abel and scooped all the magazines into a compartmentalized pouch similar to the satchel he had carried for so many years. He also grabbed the bandilier of RPG's and the sack of shotgun shells and set them on the duffel. He then went and rummaged around in a box, pulling out a small case.

Rayne frowned. "Now what?" she asked.

The click of a lighter was her only reply, and he turned around, snapping the lighter closed as he exhaled a cloud of blue smoke, cherries and vanilla filling the air.

"Now we load up and move out," he said, throwing the shotgun to Integra.

* * *

Integra eased the M-93R out of it's holster as Rayne crept back to their hiding spot. Hunter raised an eyebrow.

"Door's on a coded lock, ten digit keypad. I looked for other entrances, but I didn't find a thing."

Hunter reached into his satchel and pulled out the grenade launcher. "I guess then we create a diversion to distract the other guards." He loaded a shell and fired it over the fence and away from them. It exploded with a bright flash, burning brightly in the night sky. As shouts filled the air and armed men ran towards the disturbance, the trio ran towards the door.

"Rayne, would you do the honors?" Hunter asked.

She grinned as she stepped forward.

Integra perked an eyebrow up. "She can hack the keypad?"

Two blades flicked down and through the doorframe, severing the hinges.

"Best lockpicks in the world," she said as she slithered into the darkness beyond.

Hunter looked at the master of Hellsing and grinned in a 'What can you do' way before sliding in as well, hauling out the thompson and the p-90.

"The people I get involved with," muttered Integra as she followed, clicking off the safety of the machine pistol.

* * *

"What's the news on that explosion?" asked a technician as he worked on a circuit panel. 

The guard next to him shrugged. "All they found was a burnt flare capsule. Probably some punk kids having fun."

"Yeah, but this instillation is kind of remote, why would they..." he broke off as he heard a noise down the darkened hall.

The guard snapped his IR goggles down and peered into the darkness. The lights in the corridor had shorted out earlier that day, and combined with the flare in the woods, his watch commander was being very cautious and strongly hinted that everyone do the same.

"What is it?" whispered the tech.

He scanned through the area. "I don't see anything," he said, raising his M-16 a little higher. He thought he had seen a flicker of body heat just as he had lowered the goggles, but it could have been a heat residue from his hand. However, just to be sure, he advanced down the hall a few steps.

He spun as he heard a muffled thud behind him. He looked and saw the heat signature of the tech slumped on the ground, a small pool of heat spreading from his body.

"Harrison?" he said as he snapped his goggles up. He saw the tech, a long curving cut transecting his neck and chest, blood spilling out quickly. He snapped the safety off his rifle and spun again, looking for the assailant.

A voice, mocking and harsh drifted in from the shadows. "So this is the best the the organization can come up with for security?" it said. "What a joke. I've seen bars with better setups."

The guard reached for his radio, only to find an empty pouch on his belt. He fumbled for it stupidly as the voice floated in again.

"Sorry, but I thought I'd borrow your radio for a while. I don't think you'll be needing it where you're going."

Roaring, the guard fired into the blackness, turning in a cirle, finger held down. There was a flash of light on what looked like a blade, and then his rifle quit firing. He looked at it, seeing that the barrel and magazine had been sliced in half.

"Hasty," said the voice from behind him. He spun, catching a glimpse of a man holding a curved sword before the gleam came again and the man vanished as if into the shadows.

He started to reach for his pistol, then felt a trickle on his chest. He touched it absently, then looked at his fingertips. They came away bloody. He glanced down to see that his shirt was rapidly turning crimson. He started to feel lightheaded, and the urge to laugh came over him.

All that came out was a watery gurgle.

* * *

"Sir!" cried a specialist as he rushed up to Kane. "The scouts returned to base and found the main door sliced open from the outside. They also found the slain bodies of technician Harrison and Corporal Leese just outside the paddocks." 

Kane snarled. "Lock down the facility. Alert all guard units and have every person arm themselves with heavy arms. We've got visitors."

"Indeed you do, old friend," came a voice. Kane spun, and saw a man striding forward with a bloody katana held in his hand, two women behind him acting as rearguards. "As a matter of fact, we thought we'd come for dinner, but it looks as though you haven't made any thoughts of what to serve." He flicked the sword up, tip pointing at the dragon's throat. "So how about starting with a light entree, say, information on where we can find Belmont? Or how about anything you might know about a cure?"

Kane sneered. "_Vas' thebol, mah thikoleh_."

Hunter raised an eyebrow. "Such language, and in front of impressionable young children and ladies. Tsk tsk, that won't do. Now, lets try again, Belmont and a cure, yes or no?"

The mismatched eyes flashed. "You think I would betray my employer? It goes against the code of the Maáquë Brotherhood. I thought you knew better, philosopher."

Hunter stared in cold fury, his voice quiet. "You turned from the code the instant you stopped caring about the moral consequences of your actions, you _Yit'ian_. To suggest that you still follow that code is an affront to all the people that we knew!" He lunged at Kane, blade held low and behind him, ready for an upward sweep that would lay the treacherous man's guts out for the world to see.

The blade missed it's mark as Kane grabbed the young soldier that had frozen with fear at the arrival of trio and threw him into the path of the blade. The young man died with a look of shock on his face and Kane hauled out his pistol, the Berretta gleaming dully in the lighting. He and Hunter stood facing each other, watching each other's slightest movement.

"You know I will find you and kill you, Ezekiel. You of all people should know better to think you can escape me."

"Ah, ever the upbeat philosopher. You think that you are my equal in combat? You have a lot to learn for one so old."

As Integra and Rayne watched, Hunter smiled a cold smile, one that made even the Iron Maiden shiver. "And you forget why they called me Bane in the old days, Ezekiel."

Seeing what the Dhampir was planning, Kane fired his pistol. Hunter took the shot as he hauled out the hand he had slipped into his pouch, pulling out a small dart and threw it at the dragon. It hit him in the shoulder, doing no real damage. Kane went to pull it out but had to dodge the sweep of the japanese blade. He suddenly staggered, gasping.

"You, you," he whispered hoarsely.

"Yes," Hunter cooed. "_Triassis_ sap. Haven't used it in a while, but it's still good. Even gains potency after a few centuries. Now, it won't kill you, being a dragon, but it will render you a bit more receptive to my requests." He placed the blade on Kane's neck. "Now, is there a cure?"

Fighting off the soporific effects of the drug, Kane shook his head. "We never tested for one. There was no need for it."

Hunter kicked the man in the face. "You idiot! What if it mutates?"

Kane smiled wickedly, his pointed teeth gleaming. "Then I guess a lot will die."

"Rayne, access the mainframe. Find anything you can on the virus." Hunter took a better grip on the blade. "Integra, how much time till our parting gift is ready?"

Integra glanced at her watch. "About twenty minutes. Don't dally."

Hunter looked at the man in front of him.

He was grinning wickedly, a low chuckle starting to rise from his throat.

Hunter frowned. Kane had never been stupid or insane, which meant...

_Trap_.

"Rayne, situation omega! Integra, run!" He slammed the pommel of the sword into Kane's face and sheated the sword, hualing out his P-90 and breaking into a run.

Kane's laughter echoed in the halls as the sprinklers started to hiss into life, spraying water into the corridors.

Rayne's screams as the water hit ripped through his mind as he hoisted her over his shoulder.

They were almost out when the water became blessed.

Kane's laughter followed him into the bliss of unconciousness.

* * *

___Piano intro_

_Cut off the light, take a look  
There's nothing beyond but pain  
Suffer in the deepest void  
The flame of hope is gone  
What have I done?  
Denied the Father and the Son  
For a moment it seemed  
There's space beyond the spheres_

_Aflame the night  
So clear and bright  
Unstable light  
You've been sacrificed in fear  
Now there's one thing for sure  
I'm not afraid anymore!_

_Day after day we've been fixed in this bowl for so long  
For ages we're captured in shells and crystallized walls_

_Predestined or punished by Man or God?_

_I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
Take it away from me_

_And for a while astronomy's moved the Earth  
And we've turned around the Sun  
Sanctum Officium  
Has made me believe  
Has made me believe  
Has made me believe_

_"We know for sure you're lying  
Would you like to mess with Holy Scion?  
You know the fear of dying  
Would it be worth it to hear you crying"  
I've slaughtered truth and I've shattered my heart_

_Far too long I have played with hellfire  
And science has turned into madness  
But I should have taken it higher  
So I feel, so I feel  
Like Judas must have felt before  
That Wednesday night near by the tree_

_I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
Take it away from me_

_Day after day we will gratefully suffer for more  
Predestined's our part so we bleed in the name of God_

_Don't believe in their eternity  
We're still held in blindness  
And I've been turned into a liar  
If there is no Heaven there won't be release_

_I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
Take it away from me_

* * *

**_Preview_**

_Author_: Sorry, got nothing for you. Instead, I'd like to ask for your opinions as to how this story should continue. Email me with requests for future chapter ideas or opinions. And, unless I get five reviews, I'm afraid the story stops here.

**Chapter 17: Once, long ago...**


	17. Once, Long Ago

The first thing that came back to Integra was pain, a throbbing in her skull and along her body. Second was sensation, a cold stone floor and shackles around her wrists. Then came sound, a clanking of steel on steel and a feral growling that lent to thoughts of Norse mythology, and the story of Fenrir. She struggled into a seated position and forced her eyes open, despite the pain it caused.

The sight she saw caused her to start in momentary surprise. Hunter was standing, straining against shackles that bound his wrists and ankles. Blood ran freely down his arms from where the bonds had cut into his flesh and a partially healed cut on his temple throbbed with his pulse. His eyes were pure white and feral, fangs burst into full bloom. His hair was matted with sweat and blood, his clothes bearing remainders of some poor soul. He strained against the chains, the links groaning with the stress he placed upon them.

"He's been like that for about an hour now," a voice croaked from beside her.

She turned and saw Rayne about two feet from her on a pallet of straw and old blankets. Her flesh was covered in burns and raw flesh. The woman grinned slightly, wincing as it pulled at the tortured flesh.

"Small price I had to pay. I can't heal without feeding. Unlike Vampires, we Dhampirs have a list of differences and limitations. This was mine."

She looked back at Hunter. "He won't stop until he gets his hands around Kane's throat and squeezes. I've seen him like this once before," she shuddered. "It wasn't pretty."

Integra looked at the man she called a friend. He was nothing like the laid-back philosopher she had come to know. He was all fight and rage, all sense of reason gone and revenge the only thought on his mind. She paled at the sight.

"What set him off?" she asked.

"Kane came in and gloated about us being infected with the virus. Told us about its incubation rate, and its mortality rate." She looked at her grimly. "It's deadly within twelve hours. The only reason we're still standing is because of our mixed genetic coding."

"Seras," she whispered. "He knows that means that Seras is likely dead by now." She looked at him once more.

"And we're not far behind," Rayne finished.

* * *

She slowly woke, bright white light stabbing into her eyes. She sat up, and heard footsteps hurrying over. "Where am I?" she asked, still trying to clear her vision. 

"Medical, Major," a voice said. A cold metal item pressed itself to her chest, shocking her further awake. Hands tipped her head back.

Her sight cleared and she saw the Dr. Markus examining her and referring to a chart on a clipboard. "You've been out for three days, Major," the woman said, marking a note on the chart.

"Three days?" She tried to get off the bed, only to be pushed back by the doctor.

"You're in no shape to go anywhere, Major. And I'm afraid that my order overrules yours in this instance." She held open the woman's eyelids and examined the pupils.

"I have to go report to Sir Integra," she said, still trying to get up.

"I'm afraid our master is currently indisposed at the moment, Police Girl."

She turned, seeing the thin and pale form of Alucard standing nearby, pulling his jacket back onto his frame. His hair was pale white and his flesh almost translucent. He looked weak, something that she had never seen in her sire before.

"What happened?" asked Seras Victoria.

* * *

_1850_

The man looked up as the door creaked open. He saw the thin frame of a woman glide in, the skirt and corset making the only sounds as she moved.

He smiled. "How can I help you, Rose?"

The woman sat down, laying an envelope on the table. This just came in for you, Robin. It's from England."

As he picked it up, he frowned at the woman. "I thought I'd told you not to call me that anymore. I haven't gone by that name for almost three hundred years."

She grinned mischievously. "I think it suits you more than James. Such a, oh, English name for a man with no country."

"I'll have you know that I'm English, I grew up in Surrey. I'm English no matter how far I may roam." He opened the envelope. A ring slid out along with a letter.

_Within this letter of Marque, you shall find the Rights and Permission of the Queen to hunt down the renegade Christian Montego and crew, wanted for various counts of High Piracy, Murder, and Treason. The ship _Antelope _is a twin mast schooner with four pound guns. The ring included grants the right to arrest and transport or execute said persons in the name of the Queen._

_In the name of Queen Victoria and the Church of England, God be with thee._

He looked up at the woman sitting across from him.

"Oh the year was 1778," he sing-songed.

She grinned and continued. "How I wish I was in Sherbrooke now,"

They walked out onto the deck of the _Nostradamus, _continuing the song, with it being picked up by the various crewmembers.

"A Letter of Marque came from the King to the scummiest vessel I'd ever seen! Goddamn them all! I was told we'd cruise the seas for American gold we'd fire no guns, shed no tears! Now I'm a broken man on a Halifax pier, the last of Barrett's Privateers."

"Mister O'Brien," he called out as the crew carried the song along. "Bring us about to heading one-five-six mark five-oh and make haste for the Canaries. We've a mission to complete."

The man smiled, and began to spin the wheel about as he called out for the sails to be made full.

Rose slid up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "By the way, we have a guest," she said, turning to point at a man with mismatched eyes and a shock of white hair mixed in with the brown.

The man held out his hand. "Ezekiel Kane," the man said.

* * *

_Now_

Rayne rolled over and threw a piece of moldy bread at the still raging Hunter. "Shut up already!" she shouted.

Panting, Hunter looked at her with a cold glare. "How can you just lay there?" he snarled, his voice devoid of emotion. "Knowing that everything is going to die if we don't get out?"

Rayne threw the blanket off her legs, revealing the mass of burnt tissue and charred bone that was still healing. "Haven't got the legs I used to. My looks are slipping with age, after all."

Integra sat up. "Shut up, both of you! This doesn't help anything. We need to come up with a way to get out of here. Now," she turned to face Hunter. "Any thoughts?"

He looked at her, cold eyes warming as he looked at her. "Just one," he said, a wicked grin spreading across his lips as he kicked a chain on his ankle. One of the links had split, giving him a little extra reach with his foot. "Grub is any minute now, Rayne."

Rayne looked at him quizzically. "We just had moldy bread and water thrown in here not two hours ago. You really think they're going to step in here this soon after that?"

Integra nodded. "If we give them reason to," she said, kicking her plate over to Hunter.

Hunter hooked a toe under the tin plate, and kicked out suddenly, the plate embedding itself into the door with a heavy thud. Almost instantly, they heard the scrape of chairs on tile and the clink of keys and a rifle bolt being checked.

The door opened, two guards stepping into the room, one covering everyone with an old AR-15, the other with a small medical kit. Hunter slumped in his chains, convulsing every moment or so. The second guard walked over, pulling a small diagnostic tool from his kit.

The guard glanced over at Rayne while the tool came to life, and the man with the rifle glanced over as well. That was when all Hell broke loose. Hunter snapped his head upward, catching the man near him under the chin with enough force to shatter his jaw. As the man slumped, the guard whipped his gaze around, but the rifle was still pointed towards Rayne. It never made it all the way around before Hunter had kicked the tech into his partner, knocking them both backwards.

Near where Rayne laid waiting.

The fight was short lived, and soon the red head stood again, lithe and deadly as ever despite the few raw patches that still remained, spinning keys around a finger with a hand on her hip.

"How much do you love me?" she asked.

"Rayne," Integra spoke.

"Right," she said, unlocking the woman's chains. "Business first, pleasure later."

As soon as he was free, Hunter had picked up the weapons dropped by the guards, the AR-15, a battered Sig-Sauer 9mm, a Socomm .44, and a H&K MP5, each with two clips. Integra snatched up the Socomm and slid out of the cell, glancing up and down the hall. Hunter threw the Sig to Rayne and shouldered the MP5.

"Why do I get the girl gun?" she said.

Both of her companions looked back at her. "You're joking, right?" Hunter said.

Rayne looked at the rifles that he had and held up the pistol. With a frustrated sigh, he threw her the MP5 as well.

"That's better," she said as she checked the clip and action quickly and slid out into the hallway after her companions. Hunter snuck around a corner and snapped the neck of a guard that had just paused to light a cigarette, taking from him the S&W Mateba revolver, speed loaders, combat shotgun, and the cigarette. He turned to his friends, the glowing tip flaring for a moment as he inhaled.

"So, left or right?" he asked.

The choice was taken from him by a patrol rounding the corner into the left hand hallway. The three men stood for a moment slack-jawed, then began to raise the various rifles they held.

"Right it is then," Hunter said as he started to back down the right side corridor, AR-15 spitting fire down the hall. He spat out the cigarette as he punched a light switch, plunging the hall into darkness. While the three members of Hellsing had excellent night vision and infravision, the humans were thrown into an environment that they were unprepared for.

Rayne slipped forward, draining one man, healing the last bit of her wounds. Integra slinked forward, pushing the barrel of her pistol into the second soldier's gut, the flesh muffling and hiding both the flash and the sound of the shot. The third man spun back and forth, trying to see what was happening. He reached forward and clicked on the lamp on the end of his MP5, weapon raised to his shoulder.

The spot of light only illuminated a tattered heavy black shirt, immediately in front of him. Hunter grinned.

"Hiya," he said before thrust-kicking the man in the chest to the sound of breaking bones. Integra and Rayne were already policing weapons and bodies. Hunter reclaimed his cigarette, still half intact. He searched the bodies for a pack and a lighter. If he can't have his cigars, this was the next best thing. Shouldering the MP5 and clips, he slid forward in the shadow, blending in as though he were one. His comrades followed, just as invisible.

"If this follows any sort of intelligent design, the weapons cache will be near the cell block, so in case there was a riot or a break-out, the guards could arm themselves with better gear quickly." Hunter looked around as he clicked off another strip of lights. He slid forward and glanced into one of the doors, seeing foodstuffs.

"Why are we even going back for the guns? We have weapons and can get out." Rayne glanced back and forth, left eye flaring red from time to time.

"Because I like my pistols and I want my sword back. It was given to me by one of the last shoguns." Hunter shrugged. "Plus my cigars are in my holster pouch."

"Smoking's not the best health choice, old man," the redhead shot back.

"Not like I can die of cancer, you know," he said.

"Teeth get yellow after eternity," said Integra. "Have to watch that."

"You're not one to give me a lecture on smoking, with respect, sir." He ground out the cigarette, the end of the filter starting to flare. "Seras did a good job trying to get me to quit, but not good enough."

Rayne popped open another door, and turned back to the others. "I think we found one," she said.

Inside was a large room, pistols and rifles on the tables and various racks. Hunter found his pistols and pulled on the belt as he looked around. "No sword. Bastard's probably got it on him."

"James," Integra said, standing in front of a computer monitor. He came over and looked at the display, several camera windows open. There was Kane, the sword belted across his back like a trophy. Belmont stood to the side, dressed in durable togs and overcoat, whip strapped to his side. A third figure stood there as well, cloaked and hooded. The figure pointed at the pair, revealing slender fingers gloved in black leather. Belmont bowed his head submissively, backing slightly. Kane took offense to whatever was said, because he stepped forward, gesturing wildly with his hands. The cloaked figure did nothing, but then a shadowy form leapt from under the cloak and engulfed Kane, forming into the shape of a large rending beast. The dragon was torn apart and absorbed.

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph," murmured Rayne, crossing herself as she hadn't in centuries.

"That's a True Undead under that cloak," Hunter said. "And he just fed on Kane."

"We have to move," Integra said. "We don't have the equipment to deal with a True Undead."

As they moved out, Hunter glanced back at the monitor. There was something familiar about those hands and familiars. As if aware of being watched, the cloaked figure turned towards the camera, hood falling back.

"Mary, Blessed Mother," James said, unable to believe what he saw.

* * *

Seras pulled her flak jacket on and cinched it down, reaching for the belt on which Gravedigger had been buckled. She felt a hand grab hers and turned to see Alucard standing there. "The doctor told you to stay in bed, Police Girl," he said. 

She pulled her hand from his, strapping on her belt. "She told the same thing to you, too. I'm not going to let James and Sir Integra fight that monster alone."

"Nor do I, but there is the fact that we aren't healing normally. Our wounds may still heal faster, but the recovery is much slower than it should be. It's just sheer luck that we found a counter to the virus, and we can't count on luck forever." He looked at her hard in the face. "You know that as well as I do."

She looked at him, not looking as she slammed a clip into the pistol. "And someone is messing with a very possessive pregnant woman. And I am rather put out."

He looked at his fledging with a grin. "Well, I haven't seen that look in your eye in a while, Police Girl. The look of a true killer." He pulled his hat out of nowhere and settled it on his head. "Our ride will be here in ten minutes."

"Our ride?" she asked, brow furrowed.

"Yes," he said, chuckling. "A long lost friend, whom I expect you to treat with the same respect as you would your uncle."

"I don't have an uncle," she said.

"You do now."

* * *

Mircea lowered the _Voyager-_class helicopter to the landing pad, settling it down on its landing wheels. He slowed the rotor's spin and turned to the raven haired woman sitting next to him. "Got the hang of it yet?" he asked. 

"It's not as good as my old flintlock, but I think it'll work better in confined spaces." Rip Van Winkle snapped the breech of her new rifle open and slid a brass shell in. After closing the breech, she pulled an adjustable sight from her pocket and attached it to the stock of the rifle. "Of course, this double trigger assembly is still a little odd to my mind."

Mircea smiled. "Even with your unique ability, I need speed of fire above comfort. It just takes too long to reload your musket, and the lead ball deforms after too many strikes."

Glancing out of the window, Rip pointed to a pair of shadowy forms slipping out of the building's roof entrance. "It's time to go," she said.

"Time to go, time to stay, time to make sure things mend up right." sing-songed a voice from behind them.

"Schrodinger, next time, show up at appointed meeting spots only." The older son of the dragon scowled at him. "You know how my younger sibling feels about you."

The catboy shuddered, ears flattening against his head. "I don't like being reminded," he sulked. His ears perked up suddenly, as he looked out of the window. "They're here," he said. "I'll be going now."

When Mircea turned around, the young child had vanished without a trace. Sitting back up, he saw Seras stepping from the helipad stairwell, Alucard not far behind. He hit the hatch open switch, the feeling the rush of air as the door slid open on its automated track. As they climbed in, he twisted around in his seat and smiled.

"Good to see you, Little Brother," he said.

"You owe me an explanation," Alucard growled.

"I do, but I see you brought a fledgling with you," he extended a hand towards Seras. "Mircea Dracula, at your service."

Seras took his hand, glancing at her former master. "Dracula? But I thought you…"

"He is my older brother, and Dracula was our familial name. I thought you were more educated than that. I've caught you in the library often enough." Alucard smirked. "Though his role in history kind of stopped when he was buried alive by the Turks.

"Not a pleasant memory, to be sure," Mircea said. "But as we have a ways to fly, I think we have time to explain. I'll start with how I survived, and then I'll move on to my copilot here."

For the first time, the two vampires of Hellsing noticed Rip Van sitting in the number two seat. Alucard looked at her hard and set his jaw while Seras scratched her head in confusion.

As the helicopter rose into the air, Mircea asked in a conversational voice "What do you know about the art of Necromancy?"

* * *

James stared at the screen as the feed died, still in shock at what he had seen. It was impossible, no bit of rationality could explain the image he had seen. In six hundred years, there was no precedent for this. 

"James," called Integra, coming back into the weapons locker. "We've got to move, what are you doing?"

"Integra," he said, doubt and questioning in his voice.

"The Undead under that cloak," he said, turning to her, eyes flooded with confusion and a hint of fear.

Integra hesitated as she registered the fear. What was bad enough to frighten this man?

"The Undead, it's," he swallowed, glancing back at the screen.

"It's Walter."

* * *

_Piano intro _

_Cut off the light, take a look  
There's nothing beyond but pain  
Suffer in the deepest void  
The flame of hope is gone  
What have I done?  
Denied the Father and the Son  
For a moment it seemed  
There's space beyond the spheres_

_Aflame the night  
So clear and bright  
Unstable light  
You've been sacrificed in fear  
Now there's one thing for sure  
I'm not afraid anymore!_

_Day after day we've been fixed in this bowl for so long  
For ages we're captured in shells and crystallized walls_

_Predestined or punished by Man or God?_

_I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
Take it away from me_

_And for a while astronomy's moved the Earth  
And we've turned around the Sun  
Sanctum Officium  
Has made me believe  
Has made me believe  
Has made me believe_

_"We know for sure you're lying  
Would you like to mess with Holy Scion?  
You know the fear of dying  
Would it be worth it to hear you crying"  
I've slaughtered truth and I've shattered my heart_

_Far too long I have played with hellfire  
And science has turned into madness  
But I should have taken it higher  
So I feel, so I feel  
Like Judas must have felt before  
That Wednesday night near by the tree_

_I cannot, I will not  
Deny it's false innocence  
I cannot, I will not  
The age of false innocence  
Take it away from me_

_Day after day we will gratefully suffer for more  
Predestined's our part so we bleed in the name of God_

_Don't believe in their eternity  
We're still held in blindness  
And I've been turned into a liar  
If there is no Heaven there won't be release_

* * *

_**Preview**_

_Author: _Yes, Dark Walter is making an appearance. What next, you ask? Well, that would be telling.

_Seras: _What the bloody HELL are you doing with this story? It's got more twists than Anderson's knickers!

_Hunter: _Yeah, I'm half expecting M. Night Shyamalan to be given Co-author credit at the end.

_Author: _Rest assured, there is method to…

_Integra: _To your madness, yes, yes, heard it all before.

_Author: _What non-believers. Fine, be surprised at the end. So far, three characters aren't walking away.

_Hunter: _Ah bollocks. Your OC's are biting the big one, aren't we?

_Author: _No, not all of you, though I am going to wrap this up with a cliffhanger in Chapter 21.

**_Chapter 18: What I've Done, In The End_**


	18. What I've done, In the end

"So what you're saying is that to use Necromancy, you have to be dead?" Seras asked with a bit of disbelief.

"In essence, yes." said Mircea. "You see, on the brink of death, when you attempt to break free of the bonds of oblivion with every last ounce of your abilities, it opens a small floodgate of power that obeys the will to live. After that, however, you have to know the incantations to activate the spells."

"And that is how you survived, Brother. By blasting your way out from the ground." Alucard smirked. "Always were a show off."

"Interesting, to be sure, but what does Necromancy have to do with the current situation?" Seras shifted in her seat, tugging at the flight harness.

"Richard Belmont was a student of mine. He was fighting a group of Vampires in Austria several decades back when he was fatally wounded. His will to live allowed him to heal his wound. I found him several weeks later as he searched for book that dealt with arcane properties. He had vast potential for good, but something about the way he came into the abilities twisted his mind, corrupted it. And by result, the weave of the world's course of fate. The virus is affected by arcane means, made more virulent and easier to transfer through magic that has twisted the strands of reality."

"Which is how I come into the picture," Rip Van Winkle said, turning slightly. "With reality unraveling, tears are appearing and allowing things to slip through. In the reality where I am from, instead of absorbing me, you convinced me to return to your side and take up arms against Millennium. If not for the bridge that Schrödinger creates when he travels to a new location, I might not have survived the trip through the Weave."

"What else occurred in this world of yours?" Alucard asked.

"Well, London was sacked and the better part of Iscariot, The Knights of Malta, and various other Catholic organizations were routed when Millennium attacked London and you came back and were unlocked to your Level Zero restrictions."

"Ooh, sounds like I missed some fun through the flip of a coin," the vampire said with a slight pout.

"Not so much when you wound up fighting Walter after the Doc finished with him. He defeated you."

"What?" Seras cried out. Walter, old faithful Walter, had beaten her sire?

"He was chipped and very unstable. In the process of the battle he destroyed both of your guns and managed to destroy enough of your heart that your manipulations from Hellsing were destroyed, making you no more than a standard vampire."

"Fighting the Angel of Death to the death. Sounds glorious."

"You may yet get the chance," Mircea said as he banked the helicopter and started down towards a small clearing. "The Walter she spoke of also crossed the Weave, along with a few members of the Letzes Battalion."

"Great, we've got to fight them again." groaned the strawberry blonde.

"One good point, though. They're also trying to take out the makers of the virus. Belmont is shielded from their sight by way of his magiks, but only for so long. According to Schrödinger, they've already taken out Kane and a goodly portion of the tech staff."

"So they are taking care of the problem, and we get to go and help. Hope they leave us some fun." Alucard pulled the brim of his hat down and settled back as though to snooze.

"It's not quite that simple, Brother," said Mircea. "If the tears in the Weave remain, the fabric of the universe will collapse around itself and take both of our worlds with it."

"Great," said Seras. "How do we fix it?"

"Not a clue."

"Even better," she grumbled.

* * *

They stared at the carnage in the hallway. It looked much like the assault in the Hotel Rio that Seras had described. Integra looked around for signs of who had done it.

"This is ghastly," Rayne said. "I never left this much carnage in my wake."

Hunter looked at her. "Honestly, now,"

"Ok, almost never. At least I killed quick. Some of these look like they were left to bleed to death."

Integra knelt and examined the wounds on some of the bodies. "Looks like it was done with a knife, serrated and curved."

"It was," a voice said from down the hall. Turning, they saw a man in a white suit sauntering up towards them, a curved knife held reversed in his hand. Long blonde hair flowed behind him and round glasses sat on his nose. He had an air of complete confidence without arrogance. And yet, with all the blood on the ground an walls, not a speck on his suit. It was immaculate.

"Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing," he said coming to a stop several meters away. "How good to see you again."

Integra shook her head. "Luke Valentine," she said. "How is it that you still live? Alucard reported that he had obliterated you from existence when you raided our headquarters."

"Ah, that is where the rub lies. Apparently, reality has been stretched slightly. In my memory, I was not dispatched to your base, since it was believed that my brother Jan had more than enough support to destroy you and the Convention of Twelve. Obviously we were wrong, but we knew that all we amounted to were cogs in a machine." He looked at the other two standing there. "But you two, I have no recall of. You're not vampires but you're not human either. What are you?"

"We're special," Hunter said, feeling his stomach churn. Reality twisting to allow slain enemies to return? What the hell had gone on in this research facility?

"Must be something unique to this realm," the man said, musing to himself. "Dhampirs are unheard of save for fiction where I am from. But anyway, back to business." He turned and looked at Integra. "I have some business that I've always wanted to attend to, and now I can."

He settled down into a poised stance, knife hand drawing back for a strike. "My brother died at your hands. I would like to see you do the same."

And he leapt forward, knife coming around for a decapitating strike.

His strike was stopped as one of Rayne's blades snapped up to block while Integra rolled back.

"Stay out of this, bitch!" Luke shouted, trying to cut through her guard. "I'll deal with you in your own time!"

Hunter snapped up Cain, squeezing the trigger and launching a round at the man, only to see it stop in midair, just before falling to the ground in several pieces. He spun and found a tall lithe form standing in partial shadow at the other end of the hall, glimmering strands hanging from his hands.

"I believe that I will be your opponent," Walter said, his voice cooler and devoid of the warmth Hunter remembered. Then the wires flicked and he had to leap back to avoid their snare, the tip of his boot dropping to the ground as it was sliced.

Integra snapped up the pistol she held, but saw something out of the corner of her eye, turning to look. She set her jaw as she saw Belmont opening an access conduit and climbing inside. Seeing her friends engaged in combat, she tossed out her intentions to James and darted after the bastard that had caused all of this mess.

Rayne had trouble keeping up with the tall man's strikes, some of them coming so fast that they appeared as no more than lines of light as the blade reflected the amber glow from the lights that still worked. She already had a few minor wounds on her, but she had managed to tag him a few times in return.

Only problem was that he could regenerate without feeding.

Hunter raised Abel to fire, only to see the weapon fall to pieces in front of him, cut as clean as butter. He managed to get a round off from Cain as he shoulder rolled behind a steam pipe, giving him some temporary cover as he pulled a thermite charge from his pouch and rolled it at Walter.

It never even got half way before it was destroyed.

_This is not good, _he thought as he backpedaled quickly. He had seen those wires cleave steel and concrete as though they were gauze and tissue paper. If he wasn't careful, he'd end up as clumps of meat, and he wasn't sure if his healing abilities were still being affected by the virus.

"What's the matter? Afraid to face your better?" The dry rasp of Walter's voice slid down the hall as Hunter leaned his eye to the edge of the pipe cluster. "I don't know what you are, but you'll be done soon enough." A flicker of light was the only warning Hunter had before the cluster of pipes splintered and he felt the wires clip the back of his neck, drawing blood.

Shoulder rolling again, he snagged a piece of debris and held it in his free hand, dipping into his pocket as he returned to his feet. He made as though to fire at Walter and as the man flicked his wrist to create a defensive weave of his wires, the hunk of shattered concrete flew up towards the lone light source in that stretch of corridor, plunging it into relative darkness. Walter shifted his stance as he was thrown into sharp relief, the reflecting light from his monocle the only thing visible outside of his wires, glimmering as they floated on the air. Hunter watched as light slid down one, coming to a glimmering point at the azimuth of a curve.

_Wait a moment, _he thought, watching the wires again, seeing more gleams become shimmering points as the light flowed across them.

"You think to hide in the dark?" Walter taunted. "Such a lowly tactic. I may not have as sharp a night vision as you all, but I do know that if even by sheer coincidence I will hit you if I lash out enough."

As the wires flicked out, Hunter dropped to his back, watching the wires flash by over his head, then just before they retreated, he shoved his empty hand upwards, eyes closing for a moment in anticipation.

He felt the wires connect, then tug as they cut into his flesh, but the pain ended at the point of contact. No pain of limb loss, no gush of blood. Opening his eyes, he saw that the wires were digging into his flesh, but not cleaving it. He could see now what he had thought to be a trick of the light.

Walter's wires were not wires, but extremely flexible and thin blades, with a flat side and edges. And he had just managed to catch them by the flats. Leaping to his feet, he gave a sharp tug with his arm, seeing Walter stagger as he lost his balance.

Hunter changed his grip slightly, releasing his arm and making sure to keep his fingers on the flats of the wires, a little blood seeping from his fingers as he and Walter stood faced off across the length of the hall.

"You are the second person to be able to catch my wires," Walter said, his voice still dry but dripping with grudging respect. "I guess you will be a little more trouble to deal with." He flicked his other wrist, sending out a second set of strands.

Hunter hopped to the side before flicking his wrist, sending a ripple through the wires he gripped, causing them to tangle in the other strands his opponent held. He then fired a round from Cain, seeing the doppelganger of his old friend start ducking to dodge the attack. Grimmacing, Hunter took a half step forward and flicked his wrist again, watching the wires curl.

The curl traveled down the wires, till it wrapped around Walter's head. With a sharp tug, Hunter watched as the double dropped, head and body separate. He then dropped to his knees as his own pain reached him. He looked down and saw his hand, mangled and bleeding profusely. Ripping off a piece of his shirt, he started to bind his hand as best he could.

Rayne swept both of her blades out wide, knocking Luke's blow wide. He set himself for another pass when her boot heel swept down and across his face, snapping his body around with the impact. As he tried to right himself, she twisted her body, arms held out wide. The vampire dropped, rolling backwards to avoid the beheading strike and crouched for a moment to take stock of the situation.

"This might not be as easy as it seems, lady," he said, shifting his feet underneath him. She crossed her blades and he charged in again, knife flashing out.

A sharp roar went through the air, throwing him back as his shoulder exploded in a cloud of blood. He landed and gripped his wound for a second, knife laying unattended for a moment.

Hunter lowered his pistol, panting and sweating. "You got him?" he asked.

The redhead stood and flexed her neck, her left eye starting to glow. "Yeah," she said.

"All yours, then," Hunter said, turning and snatching up a pistol from a fallen guard. He noticed it was the next generation Desert Eagle, chambered in .454. He grabbed a few clips from the belt and hustled along after Integra.

* * *

Seras hopped out of the helicopter as Mircea slowed the rotors enough to kill the engine. A short youth stood across the way, ruffled ears flicking nervously.

"Schrödinger, any issues?" Rip asked as she climbed out as well.

"Big trouble," he said, looking back and forth. "More rips are opening, and I'm loosing evn more ground." He frowned. "I can't even leave this point now except by walking."

Mircea frowned. "Nowhere?"

"Not a single damn place besides here."

Mircea stood straighter and pointed at the compound across the way. "Then you stay here and guard the helicopter. Rip, there are three stands in the trees. Deal with them." As the vampress raised her new rifle, Mircea held out a hand palm forward, murmuring to himself.

"Now the ground belongs to the Hunters," the man said as the rifle roared, a bright streak cutting into the night. Rip cracked the breech and slammed in another shell as she directed the flight of her previous round.

Seras felt a sudden rush of power enter her veins as a brilliant light surrounded her former Master's brother, his hair ripping free of the clasp it was held in. For a few moments, he bore a striking resembleance to Alucard, save that his face was set in stern lines. "Sanctify in the name of the Light, Impure Souls of the living dead Hampered."

Seras couldn't fight off the urge to grin. "In the name of God, Impure souls of the living dead shall be banished into eternal damnation,"

Rip's rifle roared for a second time, this time the shell racing for the forward gates of the compound.

Ghostly figures began to form as Seras spoke the last word. She saw Gareth, Pickman, Fargason, and so many others.

"Amen."

The gates exploded.

* * *

_Piano Intro_

Tonight it's very clear  
Cause we're both lying here  
There's so many things I want to say  
I will always love you  
I would never leave you alone

Sometimes I just forget  
Say things I might regret  
It breaks my heart to see you crying  
I don't wanna lose you  
I could never make it alone

I am the man who will fight for your honour  
I'll be the hero you're dreaming of  
We'll live forever  
Knowing together that we  
Did it all for the glory of love

You keep me standing tall  
You help me through it all  
I'm always strong when you're beside me  
I have always needed you  
I could never make it alone

I am the man who will fight for your honour  
I'll be the hero you've been dreaming of  
We'll live forever  
Knowing together that we  
Did it all for the glory of love

Just like a knight in shining armor  
From a long time ago  
Just in time I will save the day  
Take you to my castle far away

_Interlude_

I am the man who will fight for your honour  
I'll be the hero that you're dreaming of  
We're gonna live forever  
Knowing together that we  
Did it all for the glory of love

We'll live forever  
Knowing together that we  
Did it all for the glory of love

We did it all for love  
We did it all for love  
We did it all for love  
We did it all for love

* * *

_Seras:_ What the...an update? I was enjoying my retirement, dammit!

_James: _Great.

_Author: _Oh give me a break. Between work, moving, school, and writing a full fledged novel and trying to get it published, I've been busy.

_James: _Technically our last story was a full novel.

_Integra: _Best to do the preview quickly, Seras.

_Seras: _In the next chapter, Hunter faces himself in more ways than one, master and student have a rematch, and the new team Hellsing tries to repair the fabric of reality.

_Integra: _Forgot one.

_Seras: _And Alucard gets a surprise.

_Alucard: _More than finding my brother hasn't been dead for centuries?

_James: _Wait, what's with the new ending theme?

_Author: _Second season ending theme.

_James: _Peter Cetera?

_Seras: _Hey, I like Peter Cetera. We played that at our wedding, remember?

_James: _Oh yeah...

**_Chapter 19: Personal Demons_**


End file.
